As per a new research, nearly one out of three people with diabetes has evidence of the eye disease called diabetic retinopathy.

In addition to this, more than 4 percent of people with diabetes have diabetic retinopathy that is so advanced that it is threatening their vision as reported by the study published in the Aug issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study’s lead author, Dr Xinzhi Zhang, an epidemiologist with the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said, “This was a national population-based study and we found that among Americans with diabetes who were age 40 and older, that 28.5 percent -- or 4.2 million people -- have diabetic retinopathy. And, 4.4 percent had vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy.”

The results of the study don’t bring very bad new, though. The findings suggest that good control of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol can help significantly in preventing diabetic eye disease.

In addition to this, people who already have early signs of diabetic retinopathy, treatment with laser surgery is often helpful.