Use of High Resolution Digital Retinal Imaging in the Early Detection of Retinopathy in Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes may be considered one of the most common endocrine and metabolic
conditions worldwide, affecting nearly half a million children under the age of 15 years.
Roughly 80,000 new cases involving patients younger than 15 years are added every year and an
anticipated rise in incidence of 4% may be expected.2-4Best estimates are that between the ages
of 15 to 25 years, another half a million young individuals are likely to have type 1 diabetes.
The ocular complications of type 1 diabetes can be blinding. Blindness in the younger
population inflicted with type 1 diabetes can have lifelong, catastrophic consequences on quality of life,
ability to live independently, education, productivity and longevity.
In considering a worldwide distribution, one quarter of children with type 1 diabetes
live in Europe, while 23% live in Southeast Asia. North America and the Caribbean
represent roughly 19% of cases.
China, with a population of billion, is also experiencing a rise in type 1 diabetes
with an incidence of 0.59 per 100,000 persons per year.1This number may
appear deceivingly low when compared to that of the European
countries; however, it is staggering when taking into consideration the total population of the country.
In viewing mortality rates, children residing in high-income countries afflicted with
the disease, have a mortality rate doubled than that of their counterparts without the disease.
In Sudan, the mortality rate is 42.6 deaths per 100,0007 as compared to 0.63 deaths per 100,000 in
the same age group of children living in the United States.
Diabetes Res Open J. 2015; 1(4): 79-83. doi: 10.17140/DROJ-1-114
