Abstract
Purpose :
To assess the prevalence and demographic distribution of diabetic retinopathy in the United States.
Methods :
We analyzed the epidemiological data reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS) of patients enrolled in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) who were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (DR) between 2016 and 2019. The crude prevalence rates (national and state-wise) were obtained from the database and extrapolated to estimate the DR case counts in the United States. The prevalence of these diseases was compared between males and females using Mann-Whitney test, and Brown Forsythe one-way analysis of variance test was used to the compare prevalence between age and racial groups. Furthermore, Dunnett’s T3 multiple comparison test was used for intergroup comparison.
Results :
In the cohort of Medicaid and CHIP enrolled patients, the national prevalence of DR was computed to be 0.38% (amongst 69,502,000 individuals) in 2019 showing an increasing trend from 0.31% (amongst 54,219,600 individuals) in 2016. The estimated national DR case counts increased from 800,381 in 2016 to 1,257,652 in 2019. The analysis showed a significant female preponderance (p<0.0001) for DR, who contributed to 55.31±0.80% cases in the cohort. Notably, 80.04±0.58% of the patients with a diagnosis of DR were aged between 40-64 years, followed by 18-39 years (13.46±0.40%), 65-84 years (6.13±0.20%). The data stratification into different racial groups revealed the prevalence of DR to be highest amongst Asians, followed by the Native American, Hispanic, Black and Whites (p<0.0001). However, most DR patients were White (35.59±0.70%), followed by Hispanic (32.07±1.19%), Black (19.91±0.66%), Asian (9.63±0.32%) and Native American (1.56±0.33%).
Conclusions :
In the United States, the burden of DR significantly increased between 2016 and 2019. DR is most prevalent in the 40–64-year age group and more prevalent in females compared to males. Amongst the ethnic groups, DR is most prevalent in Asians.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.