The American Diabetes Association's (ADA) 67th Scientific Sessions conference will draw to a close tomorrow. Among the latest presentations was a report on quality of life for people suffering from diabetic retinopathy. A recent Eli Lilly-funded study involving 684 patients concluded that diabetics with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy who lose at least ten letters in visual acuity - the measurement used by eye specialists - suffer a notable decline in quality of life. Significance? Vision loss used to be defined as beginning at a loss of at least fifteen letters, but this study says even mild to moderate visual impairment impacts physical functioning. More details of the findings are reported on the website DocGuide.

An example of the insidiousness of diabetes-related health complications, diabetic retinopathy causes damage to blood vessels in the eye's retina. The disease harms vision, and can even lead to blindness. Basically what happens is this: as the disease progresses, blood vessels form on the retina that are particularly susceptible to breaking and bleeding into the eye. This is known as proliferative retinopathy. It obscures the vision and can also lead to the formation of scar tissue that can eventually lead to retinal detachment.

Health Tip: Sadly, you can't cure retinopathy once you have it. However, you can slow its progress by keeping blood sugar and blood pressure levels under control. Diabetics who have not been diagnosed should also know one important fact: diagnosis usually comes after damage has already occurred. It's therefore imperative that you get screened for the disease by an ophthalmologist or optometrist annually. View the ADA's full recommendations by clicking here.