LIFESTYLE changes have lead to an alarming surge in visual impairment due to diabetic retinopathy (DR).
This has been cited in a publication, Causes of Visual Impairment among the Registered Visually Disabled: A Retrospective Study, released last month.
The research was done by a team from the King Abdulla Medical City and Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC).
The citation highlighted a study done in 1988 based on data from out-patient records, which found cataract as the most common cause for visual impairment, accounting for 52pc of cases. DR constituted only 5pc of the cases then.
“Today, DR is taking the lead as the major cause of visual impairment,” the new report said, adding that more than 40pc of cases studied were found to be affected by the ailment.
“This is likely due to a rise in the number of diabetes cases with the change in lifestyle in Bahrain.”
The incidence of diabetes in Bahrain is 14.7pc of the adult population, which is considered high compared with Europe (8.5pc) and North America (10.5pc).
The recent research also referred to a study conducted in Saudi Arabia examining the causes of visual disability, which also found DR taking a lead, pushing behind cataract which used to be the leading cause of blindness, in Jizan and Taif.
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