Why is DME So Much More Common In OUR Community?

DME, or Diabetic Macular Edema, is a condition that you may have heard of. Occurring in people with diabetes, DME happens when damaged blood vessels in your eyes swell, weaken, and leak fluid. According to the CDC, if you’ve been diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy – damage to vessels at the back of your eye – you have a 50 percent chance of developing DME. But for Black folks, it’s even worse. The problem is, too many brothers and sisters are dealing with diabetes in the first place. The CDC finds that Black adults have the second highest rate of diabetes for all racial groups, with 12 percent of the Community 18 or older diagnosed.  Because of these rates, the risks of DME are also significantly higher for the Black community. In fact, Black men and women are more than two times as likely as white people to develop DME, and also have a higher risk of going blind as a result. While there are a lotta steps we can take collectively, as a society, to address these issues, first we gotta face reality. The stats speak for themselves. All around the world, the problem persists. According to the Office of...