The Case for Biennial Retinopathy Screening in Children and Adolescents : Response to Maguire et al.

Maguire et al. (1) make the case for biennial retinopathy screening in children and adolescents. We made the same case in 1995 in an article in Acta Ophthalmologica (2). In the diabetes screening program that has been in place in Iceland since 1980, we found that no diabetic patients of any age progressed from no retinopathy to sight-threatening retinopathy (clinically significant diabetic macular edema or proliferative diabetic retinopathy) within 2 years. We concluded that biennial diabetic retinopathy screening was sufficient for diabetic patients who do not have retinopathy. We have followed these guidelines since 1995, and our program continues to maintain a low prevalence of blindness. The prevalence of legal blindness (visual acuity <0.1) in the diabetic population in Iceland has decreased from 2.5% in 1980 to 0.5% in 2005 (3–5). We completely agree with the conclusions of Maguire et al. and would like to offer our previous experience in support.