LIVERPOOL, England -- British researchers believe they’ve come up with a good plan to screen diabetics for the eye disease retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes. It can be treated effectively if diagnosed early enough. However, the disease remains a leading cause of vision loss, even in developed countries, due to late diagnosis of the condition. Screening programs have, therefore, been a high priority, with most recommending yearly exams. These recommendations, however, are based mainly on expert opinion rather than on scientific studies.

Investigators studied 7,600 patients who took part in a trial screening program in England, which used non-stereoscopic photographs to determine optimal screening intervals. After analyzing the data, they find:

• People who are not on insulin, have had diabetes for less than 20 years, and show no signs of retinopathy may wait three years before undergoing a subsequent screening.
• Those who show no signs of the disease but are taking insulin or have had diabetes for longer than 20 years should be retested within one year.
• Yearly exams are recommended for those who show signs of background retinopathy, regardless of diabetes duration or treatment.
• Those with signs of mild, preproliferative retinopathy should be screened every four months.

According to the investigators, this plan would assure, with 95-percent certainty, that no cases of sight-threatening retinopathy would be missed.

The new program may soon be implemented in England. However, in an accompanying commentary, Ronald Klein, from the University of Wisconsin, suggests more research is needed to confirm the findings before a similar strategy is implemented in the United States.