Diabetic Retinopathy in Italy: Epidemiology Data and Telemedicine Screening Programs

Abstract

In Italy, the number of people living with diabetes is about 3.5 million (5.5% of the population), with an increase by about 60% in the last 20 years and with 1 person out of 3 older than 65 years. The Italian Health Service system estimates that 10 billion euros is spent annually on caring for patients with diabetes, a figure that increases yearly. No national data on prevalence and incidence of legal blindness in patients with diabetes and no national registry of patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) are currently available. However, the available epidemiological data (in several locations throughout the country) are consistent with those reported in other European countries. The use of telemedicine for the screening of DR in Italy is confined to geographically limited locations. The available data in the literature on implementation and use of telematic screening proved to be successful from patient, caregiver, and authorities point of view. This review addresses the available epidemiological data on DR and telematic screening realities in Italy and thus may help in establishing a national screening program.

Fractal characterization of retinal microvascular network morphology during diabetic retinopathy progression

“…The application of non‐mydriatic fundus camera in combination with telemedicine for DR screening has been already evaluated and implemented at the local level in Italy with the plan for developing a national screening program. It has been shown to be a very effective and affordable tool for the prevention of blindness caused by DM . The application of the concept presented in our study at the primary care level could allow the inclusion of family physicians in the assessment of DR in all patients with DM at every visit regardless of the duration of the disease.…”

Metabolic memory in mitochondrial oxidative damage triggers diabetic retinopathy

“…It is the main cause of blindness in the working population aged 20 to 65 years old [ 1 , 2 ]. Due to its the high incidence and severe complications, DR has become a priority for blindness prevention and treatment in [ 3 , 4 ]. Intensive studies have been conducted to investigate DR in diabetic complications [ 5 ].…”

Screening Intervals for Diabetic Retinopathy and Implications for Care

“…Population-based screening programmes tend to be more successful in countries with state-run nationalised health systems because of the infrastructure and finance that is in place to support these programmes. Early pioneering work on screening for DR was conducted in Iceland [ 6 , 7 ] and Sweden [ 8 ], and this was later introduced in the UK [ 9 – 11 ], in other European countries [ 12 – 14 ] and in Singapore [ 15 ]. In the USA and Australia, screening programmes have tended to be in indigenous populations [ 16 – 18 ], linked to diabetes clinics [ 19 ], in Veterans Administration Healthcare systems [ 20 ], or in research programmes [ 21 ].…”