Fighting the good fight – India against Diabetic Retinopathy

According to the National Eye Institute (part of the US National Institutes of Health)², Diabetes causes damage to blood vessels all over the body. When blood vessels in the eyes are damaged, they leak or bleed. Some blood vessels get blocked. Diabetic Retinopathy can also lead to Diabetic Macular Edema – a condition that happens to 1 in 15 patients with diabetes and leads to blurry vision. Diabetic Retinopathy can also cause abnormal blood vessels to grow out of the retina, blocking fluid draining from the eye. This causes a type of glaucoma, which leads to blindness.

If we crunch the numbers here, we’re looking at an estimated 12.5 million people who could suffer from Diabetic Retinopathy in 2021 alone.

While these numbers are scary, the disease itself isn’t insurmountable. Diabetic Retinopathy is, in fact, wholly preventable through regular eye testing, and some lifestyle modifications. Systematic screening has been adopted in several countries. In the United Kingdom, Diabetic Retinopathy is no longer the leading cause of blindness in the working-age population. In fact, in Wales, the incidence of new certifications for visual impairment have reduced between 40-50% in just 8 years since the implementation of regular screening³.

This is precisely why Network18 has launched the ‘Netra Suraksha’ – India Against Diabetes initiative, in association with Novartis, which aims to increase awareness, and build effective partnerships with the Indian medical community, think tanks and policymakers to better combat this disease. The initiative kicked off on Nov 27, 2021, with a series of round table discussions, you can watch them on YouTube, News18.com and Facebook. The conversations focus on detection, timely prevention and available treatments. This will be followed by 2 more roundtable sessions in the coming weeks. We’ll use explainer videos and articles to illuminate various aspects of the disease, and hopefully, inspire patients with diabetes to take actions in their own favour.

By getting the word out there, and by building awareness about the ease with which this disease can be managed, we’re hoping to do our bit to tame these scary numbers down to size.

This is where you come in. Today, if you live in urban India, then someone in your circle of friends, colleagues and loved ones is a patient with diabetes. Talk to them about this initiative (or share this article!), and ask them when they’ve had their eyes tested last. If it’s been more than a few months, request them to take a Diabetic Retinopathy Self Check-Up here and to visit their doctor for a simple, painless eye test.