ATLANTA — November is American Diabetes Month, and the Georgia Optometric Association (GOA) warns that people who have diabetes are at risk of developing a potentially blinding condition called diabetic retinopathy.

“Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin production, insulin action or both,” explains Dr. Horace Deal, president of the GOA. “Diabetes can be associated with serious complications and premature death, but people with diabetes can take steps to control the disease and lower the risk of complications. Of the 17 million people who have diabetes, 6.2 percent of the population (or one third) are unaware they have the disease.

Diabetic eye disease is the most common cause of blindness in the United States for persons age 20-74, accounting for almost 80 percent of all cases of blindness in this group, according to the American Optometric Association.

At least 50,000 Americans are considered legally blind from this condition and diabetic eye disease is responsible for 10 percent of the new cases of blindness reported annually. Early treatment of diabetic retinopathy can reduce the chance of severe vision loss by 50-60 percent.

Over time, diabetes can damage and weaken the small blood vessels that nourish the retina, the delicate lining at the back of the eye containing the light-sensitive nerve cells needed for vision. When these blood vessels begin to leak, develop brush-like branches or become enlarged, the condition is called diabetic retinopathy. This affects vision in different ways, depending on what changes are occurring and in what part of the retina. Vision changes include blurred central or side vision, a blind spot in the center of vision, cloudy or hazy vision, blind spots or seeing floaters.

“Symptoms, however, often don’t appear in the early stages of the disease,” says Deal who is a practicing optometrist in Statesboro. “That’s why people with diabetes need to have a thorough eye health and vision examination every year. Direct viewing of the retina and blood vessels through a dilated eye examination allows the optometrist to diagnose diabetic retinopathy in its earliest stages, when treatment is most effective.”

The treatment for diabetic retinopathy involves laser and surgical procedures. These are often successful in reducing the progression of this eye disease and in decreasing the risk of vision loss, but early detection is the key. In addition to those who have had diabetes for a number of years, other people with diabetes who have increased risk of diabetic retinopathy are those who have fluctuating blood sugar levels, are pregnant, have high blood pressure, or smoke.

“Maintaining an adequate level of control of diabetes is an important factor in preventing the development of ocular and medical complications,” says Deal.