High blood glucose levels are the main cause of retinopathy, but high blood fats and high blood pressure can also play a part.
Who develops retinopathy?
If you have Type 1 diabetes and have had it for less than five years, you are unlikely to have retinopathy. However, the longer people have Type 1 diabetes, the more likely they are to develop retinopathy. Annual screening will help identify when retinopathy is beginning to develop, so it can be dealt with early on.
In people with Type 2 diabetes, 60 per cent of people have a significant degree of retinopathy when they are diagnosed. This is because they may have had diabetes for months or even years before diagnosis and blood glucose levels may have been higher than normal for some time.
Reviewed March 2011
Next review September 2012