What are the recommended screening intervals for diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes?

The NHS diabetic eye screening programme offers screening once a year to anyone with diabetes who is aged 12 years or over ¹,²,³,⁴.

• For patients with type 1 diabetes: Repeat structured eye screening should be arranged annually ¹,². Initial screening should be performed as soon as possible, and no later than 3 months from referral ¹,².
• For patients with type 2 diabetes: Adults should be referred immediately to the local eye screening service upon diagnosis ⁵. The general screening interval is annual ³,⁴. There is a planned extension of the time interval from annual to 2-yearly screening for people at low risk of sight loss and sight-threatening retinopathy ³,⁴. For children and young people with type 2 diabetes, annual monitoring is important from 12 years of age ⁷.