Are visual disturbances (Excluding diabetic retinopathy) more common in geriatric dm patients? are they risks factor for the progression of disability?

Geriatric DM patients should undergo regular, annual, comprehensive eye examinations to measure visual functioning and assess diabetic retinopathy and associated complications, as well as other frequent eye disorders (e.g., dry eyes, keratopathy, cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration) for which both aging and DM are important risk factors. Most geriatric DM patients have a high risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular thrombosis thus, if a clinically significant diabetic macular edema is diagnosed in one or both eyes, the first recommended line of therapy is intravitreal administration of long-acting corticosteroid drugs. More attention should be paid to vision rehabilitation programs that minimize the impact of visual loss on cognitive functioning and quality of life, which many visually impaired geriatric DM patients in the general population experience. The management of DM patients can be improved through the use of multidisciplinary, multi-specialist care networks that systematically apply Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based procedures, especially for diabetic retinopathy screening and for developing treatment algorithms for diabetic macular edema.