Thirty-Two Years Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy in a Single Centre: An Assessment of Visual Outcomes.

Cohort studyMedical sciences (Basel, Switzerland)· Jun 2026

Thirty-Two Years Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy in a Single Centre: An Assessment of Visual Outcomes.

Francesco Codicè, Tiziana Sanavia, Marina Trento … Massimo Porta

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RetinaCohort studyClinical practiceQ1IF 6.0

Diabetic retinopathy screening for 32 years was linked to stable vision after treatment

Thirty-Two Years Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy in a Single Centre: An Assessment of Visual Outcomes.

Francesco Codicè … Massimo Porta

Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · Jun 2026 · Q1 in General Medicine

Background

Diabetic retinopathy (diabetic retinopathy) is a leading cause of preventable visual impairment, and systematic screening is essential to detect sight-threatening stages before symptoms occur.

Purpose

This study evaluates, in a retrospective analysis of routinely collected clinical data, the real-life visual outcomes of screening for and treating sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy, based on 32 years of data collected in a purpose-built centre implementing the 1990 European Working Party recommendations for screening.

Methods

Screening was performed by retinal photography between 1991 and 2022 in 18,161 patients (63,289 screening episodes).

n = 18,161 patients

0.10

Results

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logMAR (7-8/10)

vision stayed steady years after laser treatment, no worsening

n = 18,161 patients

More results

At first screening, two-thirds of patients had no diabetic retinopathy, 15% had mild diabetic retinopathy, and the remainder had referable diabetic retinopathy or a non-assessable fundus.

There was no difference by sex.

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Conclusion

Screening for sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy using European Working Party recommendations was feasible in everyday practice and was associated with long-term preservation of visual acuity and a low incidence of severe visual loss.

Thirty-Two Years Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy in a Single Centre: An Assessment of Visual Outcomes.

Thirty-Two Years Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy in a Single Centre: An Assessment of Visual Outcomes.

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