Medical News Today
According to the National Institute of Health, 40 percent to 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes already have some stage of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy, damage to the retina caused by leaky blood vessels, is a major cause of blindness in people with diabetes and is one of the most feared diabetic complications. In fact, up to 80 percent of all patients who've had diabetes for 10 years or more will experience some form of diabetic retinopathy.