People with type 2 diabetes who drink alcohol are at increased risk for blurry vision unrelated to retinopathy, according to Joline W.J. Beulens, PhD, of University Medical Centre Utrecht in the Netherlands, and colleagues published in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

There was two-line loss of acuity in participants reporting one to 14 drinks or more a week compared with those who don't drink. They calculated that each additional drink per week increased the risk of two-line acuity loss by 2%.

While moderate drinking did not increase the risk for or progression of retinopathy in a study of more than 1,200 diabetics it nearly doubled the risk of losing two eye-chart lines of visual acuity over an average of five years.

Retinal vascular lesions by mydriatic stereoscopic photography, were no more common in diabetics who drank than in those who didn't. The study authors theorized, Alcohol is known for its neurotoxic properties, which could induce oxidative damage to the retina and the optic nerve, leading to visual loss."

Posted in: Blurred vision, Diabetes mellitus, Diabetes mellitus type 2, Diabetic retinopathy, Health, Vision loss, Visual acuity