Diabetic retinopathy (damage to the retina caused by complications of diabetes mellitus) is the leading cause of new cases of legal blindness among adults 20 to 74 years of age in the United States. Diabetes-related blindness costs the United States approximately $500 million annually, according to background information in the article. “Investigating the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy is important because it is a key indicator of systemic diabetic microvascular complications, and as such, a sentinel indicator of the impact of diabetes,” the authors write.
