Team McCallum

R&D for Lifetime of Life

Diabetes and alcohol.

A study has found that even moderate consumption of alcohol by diabetics is linked to an increased risk of deteriorating eyesight, even when diabetic retinopathy does not occur.

Dr Joline WJ Beulens looked at 1,200 diabetics and compared their alcohol consumption to how their eyesight progressed over a five year period.

Diabetic retinopathy, a condition in which the retina deteriorates accompanied by worsening vision, was not linked to alcohol consumption. Those drinking had the same risk of developing it as those abstaining, and in those with the condition, progression was no better or worse for drinkers or non-drinkers.

However, the risk of losing 2 lines from an eye-chart was 80% higher in those drinking moderately (1 to 14 drinks per week) compared to non-drinkers. Every additional drink per week added a 2% increase to this risk.

The researchers did not have a definitive explanation for this loss of eyesight. However, it was found that those drinking wine had less risk than those drinking beer or spirits. This led the team to suggest that the eyesight loss might be oxidative damage, with wine cutting some of the impact due to its anti-oxidant compounds.


December 6, 2010 - Posted by | Alcohol, Diabetes, Sight, Success

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Google+ photo


Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: