By Heather Kohn, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

SAN DIEGO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Retinopathy -- the most common cause of adult blindness -- is present in nearly 8 percent of those who have not yet developed type 2 diabetes, shows a new study presented at American Diabetes Association’s Annual Scientific Sessions in San Diego.

Researchers from the University of Colorado in Boulder also observed this diabetes complication between six and 12 months after 13 percent of study participants developed type 2 diabetes.

Researchers analyzed patients participating in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) in the first long-term study to focus specifically on the development of retinopathy in type 2 diabetics.

Researcher Richard Hamman, M.D., says, “Previous studies have not accurately defined when type 2 diabetes begins, so our understanding of the onset of diabetic eye disease has been limited. Now we know that diabetic retinopathy does occur in pre-diabetes. We’re seeing it early in the course of diabetes -- within an average of three years after diagnosis. This adds to our understanding of the development of retinopathy and suggests that changes in the eye may be starting earlier and at lower glucose levels than we previously thought.”

Researchers advise patients who have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to be screened for retinopathy. Regular eye exams should accompany good control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, they say.

SOURCE: Heather Kohn at the American Diabetes Association’s 65th Scientific Sessions in San Diego, June 10-14, 2005