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Information for healthcare professionals about diabetic macular oedema.
Diabetic macular oedema (DMO) is a complication of diabetes that occurs when there is damage to the blood-retinal barrier, leading to accumulation of fluid within the intraretinal layers of the macular.1
Hyperglycaemia caused by uncontrolled diabetes can, over time, lead to serious damage to body systems, particularly nerves and blood vessels.2
Worldwide, diabetes is one of the leading causes of2:
Heart attack and stroke
Blindness
Kidney failure
Lower-limb amputation
DMO is a complication of diabetic retinopathy. It can occur at any stage of diabetic retinopathy, although it is more likely to occur the longer the disease goes on.3
Approximately 7% of people with diabetes have DMO.4
Adapted from Diabetes UK.5
Of the £9.8 billion total cost of diabetes to the NHS, around 80% is spent on complications of disease.5
*This data analysis is from 2010/2011.5
Resources
- Bhagat N et al. Surv Ophthalmol 2009;54(1):1–320.
- World Health Organization. Diabetes. 2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes [Accessed September 2020].
- National Eye Institute. Macular edema. Available at: https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/macular-edema [Accessed September 2020].
- Minassian DC et al. Br J Ophthalmol 2012;96(3):345–349.
- Diabetes UK. The Cost of Diabetes. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/resources-s3/2017-11/diabetes%20uk%20cost%20of%20diabetes%20report.pdf [Accessed September 2020].