Study says it's safe to screen less frequently

Three-year retinal screening is safe for type 2 diabetic patients who have no retinopathy, according to a report in this month's Diabetic Care.

Annual screening of the retinas of diabetics is the norm in the UK, while some European countries, notably Sweden, rely on screening every two years.

A study by Skane University Hospital in Malmo assessed the retinas of 1,691 patients in their mid-50s with type 2 diabetes, all of whom began the study with no detectable retinopathy. After three years, 73 per cent were still without retinopathy, while the remaining 27 per cent had mild to moderate (background) retinopathy. None were found to have pre-proliferative or proliferative retinopathy and only three were found to have macular oedema, one of them only in one eye.