Diabetes and diabetic retinopathy in indigenous Australians

Abstract

The health status of indigenous Australians is significantly poorer than that of other Australians. One of the major health problems for this population is type 2 diabetes which has been reported to have much higher prevalence rates than those in the rest of the Australian population. The significance of diabetes as a health issue has recently been reinforced by its inclusion as one of the six National Health Priorities. The recently developed National Diabetes Strategy is now in its implementation phase. Diabetic retinopathy is an important complication of diabetes. However, its prevalence within the indigenous population of Australia is not well documented. In this paper, we give a brief overview pertaining to this topic and include two case reports to illustrate some of the specific issues related to the management of diabetic retinopathy in this population.

Key words:

• diabetes
• diabetic retinopathy
• health workers
• indigenous