Resource Use and Costs Associated With Diabetic Macular Edema in Elderly Persons

Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss in working-age adults in the United States.1Approximately 4.1 million adults aged 40 years and older have diabetic retinopathy,2and there are as many as 40 000 new cases of blindness in patients with diabetes mellitus each year.3Diabetic macular edema (DME), a form of diabetic retinopathy caused by continued leakage from retinal blood vessels, is the most common cause of vision loss in patients with diabetic retinopathy.4,5