One of the offshoots of diabetes is blindness. If neglected, diabetes will lead to impairment of vision. This is a known thing. Here's some good news that diabetics and their kin must take note of.

“If attended to well in time, we can save 98 per cent of all blindness caused by diabetes. It is potentially preventable with timely laser treatment,” Prof. Hugh Taylor, Melbourne Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne and Chair of Indigenous Eye Health, said.

“Although not typically recognised as a killer disease, blindness does lead to increased mortality. Severe vision loss, and blindness, is one of the most disabling complications of diabetes. It is vital that regular eye examinations are an integral part of the health care of diabetics and that these processes are fully integrated into the health system,” Prof. Taylor said, addressing the first symposium on Public Health and the Eye here on Monday.

The symposium was held at the L V Prasad Eye Institute to mark its Silver Jubilee celebrations.

Prof. Mala Rao, Professor of International Health, University of East London, said that good quality universally accessible primary care was also the means of maintaining good eye health across the population and reducing disability.

Healthcare experts from across the world felt that non-communicable diseases needed to include reference to the massive social and economic impacts of blinding conditions such as cataract, glaucoma, diabetes and age-related macular degeneration.

Globally, 285 million people were vision impaired. This included about 40 million who were blind. “Discussions around NCDs often focus on mortality rates. There is evidence to suggest a direct relationship between blindness and mortality.

According to the World Health Organisation, deaths from NCDs will increase by 17 per cent in the next decade,” a press release quoting experts at the meet said.

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