• 1.8 million person are affected by diabetic retinopathy globally.¹
  
  
• 75 % of diabetics will be affected by some form of retinopathy.²
  
  
• 4.1 million adults in the United States 40 years and older have diabetic retinopathy.³
  
  
• 1 of every 12 persons with diabetes has diabetic retinopathy. ³
  
  
• African Americans have a diagnosed rate 45% higher than non-Hispanic whites. ⁴
  
  

To learn more about diabetes statistics in the general public and specifically in African Americans - click here. 

To read the “Prevent Blindness America: 2008 Vision Problems in the U.S (4th Edition) Report"–
click here.



Sources:

1. VISION 2020 - The Right to Sight: Diabetic Retinopathy retrieved from http://www.vision2020.org/main.cfm?type=WIBDIEBETIC on October 21, 2010.
2. Research to Prevent Blindness: Diabetic Retinopathy Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.rpbusa.org/rpb/eye_info/diabetic_retinopathy/ on October 21, 2010According to the Research to Prevent Blindness.
3. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among adults in the United States. Kempen JH, et al.  Ophthalmology. 2004 Apr;122(4):552-63.
4. Is the Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy Greater in Non-Hispanic Blacks and Mexican Americans Than in Non Hispanic Whites with type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care, Volume 21, Number 8, August 1998.