Long-term trends in incidence and prevalence of severe sight impairment due to diabetes in South East Scotland before and after implementation of diabetic retinopathy screening

The study set out to examine the impact of the introduction of a national diabetic retinopathy screening programme in Scotland in 2006 on incidence and trends in severe sight impairment (SSI) certification due to diabetes over three decades. We analysed SSI certification due to diabetic eye disease in Fife, Scotland, between 2010 and 2019 and compared it to previously published estimates from 1990 onwards. Population estimates of the general population and those with diabetes were obtained from the National Records of Scotland and the National Diabetes Register, NHS SCI Diabetes, respectively. Mean annual incidence of SSI in the population with diabetes, 1990–2019, before and after the introduction of diabetic retinopathy screening was compared using a Mann–Whitney U Test. Mean incidence in 2007–2019 was 19.8/100,000 and was significantly less than the period before the systematic screening, 1990–2006 (57.5/100,000, p