A new study published today in JAMA Ophthalmology, “Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy in the US in 2021,” found that in 2021, an estimated 9.6 million people in the United States (26.4 percent of those with diabetes) had diabetic retinopathy (DR), and 1.84 million people (5.1 percent of those with diabetes) had vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (VTDR). The number of people aged 40 years and older living with diabetes-related eye disease more than doubled since prevalence was last estimated in 2004. VTDR has also almost doubled since last estimated in 2004. The study is the first of its kind to estimate the prevalence of DR and VTDR in people younger than 40 years. In the youngest age group, ages 0 to 24 years, more than 1 in 10 people with diabetes had DR, which increased to nearly 1 in 5 among people with diabetes ages 25 to 39 years.
