CDC: Younger adults with diabetes lag in seeking eye care

(HealthDay)—Younger adults with diabetes are less likely to seek regular eye care, regardless of how long it has been since they were first diagnosed, according to a report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

Maria A. Villarroel, Ph.D., and colleagues from the CDC used data from the 2012 to 2013 National Health Interview Survey to assess the percentage of U.S. adults with diagnosed diabetes who visited an eye doctor in the past year.

The researchers found that, overall, the percentage of those who visited an eye doctor within the past 12 months increased with years since diagnosis. About 51.6 percent of those diagnosed within the prior five years had visited an eye doctor in the past 12 months, compared with 57.3 and 61.2 percent of those diagnosed five to <10 years ago and 10 or more years ago, respectively. The percentage of adults with diagnosed diabetes who had visited an eye doctor increased with increasing age: 38.2, 53.8, and 66.5 percent for those aged 18 to 39, 40 to 64, and 65 years or older, respectively. Among those aged 18 to 39 years and 65 years or older, the percentage who sought care from an eye doctor did not differ significantly by years since diabetes diagnosis.

"Thus, among adults with diabetes, both age and years since diagnosis may play a role in visiting an eye doctor in the past 12 months," the authors write. "However, the association between years since diagnosis and visiting an eye doctor in the past year may only hold for certain age groups, specifically adults aged 40 to 64."

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