Adult Diabetics Fear Blindness or Vision Loss More than Early Death
The American adults with diabetes fear vision loss or blindness more than they fear dying prematurely, according to results from a seven-country survey presented at the International Diabetes Federation�s 19th World Diabetes Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.

Additionally, many diabetics feel they have been, or would be, affected by emotional challenges due to vision loss or blindness as a result of diabetes.* Forty-one percent of U.S. adults with diabetes cited vision loss � including significant problems not correctable with glasses or contact lenses, or blindness � as what they feared the most. Only 16% of U.S. respondents cited premature death as their greatest fear.

�Managing diabetes carefully is essential for the prevention of complications, including vision loss and blindness,� says Jimmy Ross, international president of Lions Clubs International, which partnered with Eli Lilly and Company to commission the survey. �This survey highlights the potential significant physical and emotional impact of vision loss on people with diabetes and thus underscores the importance of annual dilated eye exams for people with the disease.�
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults in the United States. Many U.S. adults with diabetes who say they have not yet experienced vision loss or blindness reported being worried about losing the ability to conduct certain daily life activities as a result of vision loss or blindness due to diabetes.� Sixty-five percent of respondents cited driving, 61% reading and 43% continuing hobbies or interests
Additionally, U.S. adults with diabetes feel they would face or have faced emotional issues due to blindness or vision loss, including feelings of frustration (44%), depression (34%) and loss of independence (34%).
Many medical studies have shown that diabetes has been linked to a variety of related complications.1 Sixty-nine percent of U.S. adults with diabetes were aware that vision loss or blindness are potential complications of diabetes. Sixty percent recognized kidney damage as a complication of diabetes, while 49% recognized stroke as a complication.
Surveys were also administered to adults with diabetes in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and South Africa. As in the United States, the leading fear of people with diabetes in these countries was blindness or vision loss, followed by premature death.
According to the American Diabetes Association, more than
20 million people in the United States, or 7% of the population, have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed, another 6.2 million people are undiagnosed and have an increased risk of developing diabetes-related complications.2 OM
* These findings are based on 94% of respondents who reported on the state of their vision � those who did not select �don�t know� or �decline to answer� when asked about the state of their current vision.
� Caution should be exercised when interpreting these results as data are based on small sample size (n=88).

References
1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Fact Sheet: General Information and National Estimates on Diabetes in the United States, 2000. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/
estimates.htm. Last accessed November 27, 2006.
2. American Diabetes Association: Diabetes Statistics. http://www.diabetes.org./diabetes-statistics.jsp. Accessed October 2, 2006.

About the Survey: Commissioned by Lions Clubs International and Eli Lilly and Company, the survey interviewed 250 U.S. adults with diabetes via telephone and was part of a larger global survey (n=1,458) on the experiences and understanding of diabetes complications of people living with the disease. Harris Interactive fielded the telephone survey between April 21, 2006 and May 30, 2006 among nationwide cross-sections of adults age 18+ with diabetes as follows: United States (n=250), U.K. (n=200), Spain (n=204), Italy (n=202), France (n=201), Germany (n=201) and South Africa (n=200). The European data were weighted to be representative of the adult population with diabetes of each country on the basis of age, sex and type of diabetes. The U.S. data were weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population with diabetes on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity and type of diabetes. The South African data was not weighted and cannot be projected to the entire population of South African adults with diabetes. To learn more about Lions SightFirst initiatives, visit www.lcif.org.