Fast growing diabetes is leading to blindness and visual impairment due to poor blood sugar control among patients. According to the diabetes and diabetic retinopathy survey by the AIIMS conducted between 2015 to 2019, one in eight persons above 50 years in India is a diabetic.

One in every 46 diabetics is blind and one in seven diabetics has some form of impairment in their vision due to high blood sugar levels

Of 56, 771 persons over 50 years of age assessed in 21 districts, up to 11.8 per cent (6,717) were found to be diabetic. Of these, 144 persons were blind and 923 persons were visually impaired.

"Prevalence of blindness among diabetics was 2.1 per cent and visual impairment was 13.7 per cent," states the report.

 In all the diabetics, 16.9 per cent had diabetic retinopathy or damage to retina, 7 per cent had diabetic maculopathy or damage to macula, a part of the eye which provides central vision and 3.6 per cent had sight threatening diabetic retinopathy, the report estimated.

Globally, diabetic retinopathy is responsible for 1.06 per cent of blindness and 1.16 per cent of visual impairment, according to 2015 estimates.