Eye disease in veterans with diabetes

OBJECTIVE - To describe the screening, prevalence, and management of eye disease in veterans cared for by the Veterans Affairs (VA) System. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Eye examinations, treatments, and diseases were identified in veterans with diabetes who received care in inpatient and outpatient VA settings during FY1998. Analysis was conducted to characterize the patient population and screened population and to compare them to the total VA patient population with diabetes. Logistic regression was performed to predict eye screening. RESULTS - Overall 48% of veterans with diabetes had an eye examination in FY1998. One-third of all veterans had an eye condition and 8.6% of veterans had ophthalmic manifestations of diabetes. In addition 11% reported glaucoma and 17.8% reported cataract surgery. Approximately 11,500 (2.7%) veterans were blind. CONCLUSIONS - Visual impairment is a common complication of diabetes. Half of this population of veterans had a visual examination recorded in VA. The VA is testing a more targeted screening and treatment approach for diabetic eye disease in order to prevent the serious eye complications.