► Duration of diabetes - the longer you have diabetes, the greater your risk of having diabetes retinopathy

► Poor control of your blood sugar level

► High blood pressure

► High cholesterol

► Pregnancy

► Tobacco use like smoking

Laser treatment (photocoagulation) can be an effective treatment for diabeteic retinopathy. It does not cure completely, but can prevent, delay and sometimes reverse vision loss.

When diabetic retinopathy causes bleeding (haemorrhage) into the vitreous gel, surgical removal of the vitreous (vitrectomy) may help to improve vision.

Some anti-VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) medicines, such as ramibizumab (Lucenits) can help to shrink new blood vessels in proliferactive diabetic retinopathy.