How does diabetes affect the eyes?
Diabetes can damage the small blood vessels in the retina, a condition called diabetic retinopathy, and it also raises the risk of cataract and of other eye problems. It can progress without symptoms.
- Subject
- Eye conditions
- Topic
- Diabetic eye disease
- Kind of question
- How it works
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
This is why retinal screening is recommended at regular intervals for people with diabetes, and why good control of blood sugar and blood pressure is part of looking after the eyes rather than separate from it.
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Eye conditions & diseases in Diabetic eye disease . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Condition Glaucoma
- Condition Keratoconus
- Condition Retina and macula conditions
- Condition Diabetic eye disease
- Condition Eye infections, allergies and injuries
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Eye Health Information
Condition-by-condition eye health information from a US government research institute, written for patients rather than for clinicians.
Used for Plain-language explanations of eye conditions and their symptoms; Healthy vision and screening guidance.
Link checked 23 September 2026
- Blindness and vision impairment
The WHO overview of vision impairment, including the conditions that account for most avoidable sight loss worldwide.
Used for Framing uncorrected refractive error as a public health issue rather than a lifestyle one.
Link checked 23 September 2026