Ocular Disease, Knowledge and Technology Applications in Patients With Diabetes

Abstract

An estimated 25.8 million children and adults in the United States, approximately 8.3% of the population, have diabetes. Diabetes prevalence varies by race and ethnicity. African Americans have the highest prevalence (12.6%), followed closely by Hispanics (11.8%), Asian Americans (8.4%), and Whites (7.1%). The purpose of this article is to discuss the ocular complications of diabetes, the cultural and racial differences in diabetes knowledge, and the role of telemedicine as a means to reach the undeserved who are at risk of complications. Information on the pathophysiology of ocular disease in patients with diabetes and the role of telemedicine in diabetes care was derived from a literature review. National Institutes of Health (NIH) on-line resources were queried to present data on the racial and cultural understandings of diabetes and diabetes-related complications. The microvascular ocular complications of diabetes are discussed for retinopathy, cataracts, glaucoma and ocular surface disease. Racial and cultural differences in knowledge of recommended self-care practices are presented. These differences in part, may explain health disparities and the increased risk of diabetes and its complications in rural minority communities. Finally, advances in telemedicine technology are discussed that show improvements in metabolic control and cardiovascular risk in adults with type 2 diabetes. Improving provider and patient understanding of diabetes complications may improve management and self care practices that are important for diabetes control. Telemedicine may improve access to diabetes specialists and may improve self-management education and diabetes control particularly in rural and underserved communities.

Quantitative evaluation of optical coherence tomography angiography images of diabetic retinopathy eyes before and after removal of projection artifacts

“…Diabetes is a chronic disease affecting an estimated 422 million adults world wide as of 2014 (a 4‐fold increase since 1980) according to the World Health Organization . Diabetes mellitus can bring about ocular complications such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), cataract, neovascular glaucoma, retinal detachment and dry eye disease . DR is the key cause of blindness due to long‐term damage to retinal microvasculature .…”

Developmental and Extracellular Matrix-Remodeling Processes in Rosiglitazone-Exposed Neonatal rat Cardiomyocytes

“…Diabetes prevalence varies by race and ethnicity. African–Americans have the highest prevalence (12.6%), followed closely by Hispanics (11.8%), Asian–Americans (8.4%) and white subjects (7.1%) [1]. The total annual global health expenditure for diabetes in 2010 was estimated to reach minimally US$376.0 billion, with diabetes accounting for 12% of the world’s total health expenses [2].…”

Original Research: Potential ocular protection and dynamic observation of Polygonatum sibiricum polysaccharide against streptozocin-induced diabetic rats’ model

“…DM can lead to several ocular complications such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), cataract, glaucoma, etc., which remains a major cause of blindness. 2 DR, one of the most common microvascular complications in DM, is the leading cause of blindness among working people in developed countries. 3 For patients whose diabetic duration is less than five years, DR morbidity is approximately 38-39%, and for those whose duration is 5-10 years, the morbidity is approximately 50-56.7%, whereas for patients whose diabetic duration is more than 10 years, the morbidity is approximately 69-90%.…”