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16 Oct 2017

Discovering diabetes earlier - through your eyes

Every two minutes, a person in the United Kingdom is diagnosed with diabetes, and the epidemic is showing no signs of slowing globally. New estimates by the International Diabetes Federation show that one tenth of the world's population will be affected by the disease by 2040.

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As those living with diabetes continue to struggle with the toll it takes on their health and overall wellbeing, it's easy to overlook an important preventative health care tool that can help detect diabetes earlier and lead to better health outcomes: a comprehensive annual eye exam.

More than just an eye exam

You may be surprised to learn that yearly comprehensive eye exams are an easy and important way to safeguard your eyes and overall health. This routine visit to the optician can help detect signs of serious health conditions including diabetes as well as high cholesterol, and in some cases, even more serious conditions such as brain tumours.

Why is this seemingly simple medical examination so critical? Your eyes are the only part of the body that allows your optician a window into your health without surgery or invasive procedures. By looking at blood vessels in the eyes, an optician not only ensures your eyes are healthy, but can detect the aforementioned conditions earlier, sometimes even before you're aware of them.

The value of vision care continues to make substantial positive impact when it comes to preventative health care. In fact, a 2014 study found that through comprehensive eye exams, VSP Vision Care eye doctors were the first to identify signs of diabetes 34% of the time, high blood pressure 39% of the time, and high cholesterol 62% of the time in patients.  

So, when was your last visit to the optician? According to Eyecare Trust, one in 10 British adults has never had an eye exam. Others wait until there is a change in their vision to visit the optician, forgoing the preventative benefits. Estimates indicate that there are 1.1 million people in the UK with diabetes who have yet to be diagnosed.

Since they are unaware of their condition, they often go untreated and the disease progresses, ravaging their vision. For example, individuals with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are at risk for diabetic retinopathy which weakens the blood vessels in the eyes, causing fluid to leak into the eye and blur vision. In some cases, it can even result in vision loss.

The cost of diabetes on productivity

A costly and debilitating disease, diabetes will impact five million people in the UK by 2025. Beyond the medical impact, as diabetes rates rise, there is also a staggering economic toll on productivity. The London School of Economics reported in 2012 that the estimated annual cost of absenteeism due to diabetes is £8.4 billion per year in the UK, while the cost due to early retirement is £6.9 billion. 

Take another look 

As the diabetes epidemic in the UK continues to spread, the value of a comprehensive eye exam has become increasingly clear. Early disease detection through a comprehensive eye exam offers opportunities for disease management and prevention of blindness and serious illness, all while helping minimize productivity loss. Vision care offers a powerful health tool to individuals and employers alike, ensuring healthy vision while also providing critical overall health insights.

This article was provided by VSP Vision Care.

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