Eye disease skyrocketing in the US
Eye diseases causing vision impairment increasing in the US due to diabetes complications.
The last decade has seen a dramatic rise in vision-impairing eye diseases in the United States.
New data from Prevent Blindness America and the National Eye Institute show that there was an 89 percent increase in the number of people with diabetic retinopathy between 2000 and 2010.
In it's worst form, wrote WebMd, the illness can impair vision.
It is estimated that nearly 8 million Americans over 40 have the disease already.
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"The number we are most alarmed about is the increase in diabetic retinopathy, which is largely due to the diabetes epidemic," said Jeff Todd, chief operating officer of Prevent Blindness America, reported USA Today.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, age-related macular degeneration has increased by 25 percent during the same period with more than 2 million over the age of 50 already affected.
Cataracts and glaucoma have also increased substantially according to the findings.
The report was released as part of a national summit held this week in Washington, DC.