HighlightsIn Spain, diabetic retinopathy (DR) prevalence in type 2 diabetic patients was 14.9%.DR was higher in women and older patients.eGFR, duration of disease, HbA1c ≥ 7% and high blood pressure were associated with DR.DR was also higher in patients taking insulin.Patients with DR used to have comorbidities more frequently.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the worldwide leading cause of legal blindness. In 2010, 1.9% of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients were legally blind and 10.2% had visual impairment. The control of DM parameters (glycemia, arterial tension and lipids) is the gold standard for preventing DR complications, although, unfortunately, DR still appeared in a 25% to 35% of patients. The stages of severe vision threading DR, include proliferative DR (6.96%) and diabetic macular edema (6.81%). This review aims to update our knowledge on DR screening using telemedicine, the different techniques, the problems, and the inclusion of different professionals such as family physicians in care programs.

This study confirmed the greater risk of ALL run by people with DM. The incidence of ALL in this study was less than in countries of Northern Europe, the USA and Australia, but more than in any study published before in Spain.