Visual Deficits Due to Diabetic Retinal Disease Across Race and Ethnicity

Purpose: To understand the current disparities in visual deficits across race and ethnicity in patients with diabetic retinal disease (DRD). Methods: The Sight Outcomes Research Collaborative was used to identify all patients with DRD, diabetic macular edema (DME), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) from 2015 to 2023. We created descriptive cohorts for each of the 3 diseases based on patients self-describing as White (non-Hispanic), Black/African American (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, or none of these categories (grouped as Other). We implemented a linear regression model with generalized estimating equations to estimate differences in characteristics between groups. The primary outcome was percentage of eyes with visual deficits to a visual acuity (VA) level of 20/200 or worse. Results: Percentages of eyes with VA of 20/200 or worse at inclusion were as follows: for DRD, 6.7% (1208 of 17 909 eyes) in the White (non-Hispanic) group, compared with 10.2% (779 of 7644 eyes) in the Black/African American group, 11.6% (499 of 4295 eyes) in the Hispanic group, and 7.8% (314 of 4040 eyes) in the Other group (each P < .001); for DME, 5.1% (214 of 4218 eyes) in the White (non-Hispanic) group, compared with 4.9% (81 of 1670 eyes) in the Black/African American group, 3.4% (29 of 844 eyes) in the Hispanic group, and 4.9% (43 of 877 eyes) in the Other group (each P = .21); for PDR, 16.4% (958 of 5838 eyes) in the White (non-Hispanic) group, compared with 23.3% (684 of 2935 eyes) in the Black/African American group, 24.4% (459 of 1879 eyes) in the Hispanic group, and 19.0% (242 of 1271 eyes) in the Other group (each P < .001). Conclusions: Disparities in visual deficits between races and ethnicities continue to exist.