Many Youth Newly Diagnosed with Diabetes Aren’t Screened for Retinopathy

By Kelly Young

Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS

 

Many children and adolescents with diabetes aren’t being screened for diabetic retinopathy soon after their diagnosis, according to a retrospective study in JAMA Ophthalmology. For type 1 diabetes, the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends retinopathy screening 5 years after diagnosis. For type 2 diabetes, screening is recommended at the time of diagnosis.

Using healthcare records from a U.S. managed care network, researchers studied nearly 13,000 patients aged 21 and younger who were diagnosed with diabetes. Six years after diagnosis, only 65% of patients with type 1 diabetes and 42% of those with type 2 diabetes had undergone an ophthalmologic exam. Screening rates were lowest among black and Latino youth and among those with lower household incomes.

To increase screening rates, a commentator advocates using retinal telescreening in the primary care setting. (Of note, the commentator is an adviser to a company that makes a retinal screening tool for primary care providers.)

 

JAMA Ophthalmology article (Free abstract)

 

da NEJM