Global, regional, and national burdens of blindness and vision loss attributable to diabetes from 1990 to 2021, and forecasts to 2045: analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background Blindness and vision loss (BVL) is a major public health concern. Diabetes is associated with a series of vision loss causes. An understanding of the trend of the burden of BVL attributable to diabetes is critical for planning health policy. Methods We obtained global, regional, national, age- and sex-specific data on the prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) of BVL attributable to diabetes mellitus from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021) and performed a secondary comparative analysis by time, location, SDI, age, gender and severity. Results From 1990 to 2021, the global incidence and age-standardized rate of BVL continuously increased. In 2021, 5836.5 thousand BVL cases attributable to diabetes occurred globally, and the age‐standardized rate for YLDs was 67.3 per 100,000 population. Great disparities were found across different genders, ages, and locations. Higher burdens appeared in females, elderly individuals, and regions with less advanced health systems. Conclusions The burden of BVLs attributable to diabetes has increased significantly since 1990 and varies widely across regions. Greater efforts are needed in diabetes control and vision protection, especially in elderly individuals and females, in regions with middle and low-middle SDI regions, and in regions with less advanced health systems.