Dr. Mangala Dhanapala, an eye surgeon, states that 3 million of the country’s population are receiving treatment for diabetes and 3 lakh of them are blind due to diabetes. (Sri Lanka Latest News)
It has also been recognized that the majority of people who become blind are in the age group of 25-74 years.
According to the expert, 27 percent of the population of Colombo district is a victim of diabetes and the percentage in rural areas is 8 percent.
In the year 2021, 531 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with diabetes and 35 per cent or 145 million of that number will suffer from some form of visual impairment due to diabetes, while 45 million will become blind, the expert points out.
It is estimated that by 2030 this number will be 643 million and by 2040 it will be 783 million.
These comments were made at a conference held yesterday at the National Eye Hospital on the occasion of World Diabetes Day, which falls today (14).
