BBC News - Cardiff expert's ethnic eye test 'catastrophe' warning

BBC News - Cardiff expert's ethnic eye test 'catastrophe' warning: "The reasons for the higher instances of certain eye complaints among black minority and ethnic groups are varied.

For example, southern Asian people are more susceptible to diabetic retinopathy owing to a genetic inability to produce the amount of insulin required for a high-sugar, high-dairy western diet.

Similarly, the traditional Somali diet, rich in meat protein and starchy carbohydrates, is well suited to an active life in Somalia, but is too rich for the more sedentary jobs found in Wales.

People from an African/Caribbean background in general are at greater danger from glaucoma because of their thicker corneas, although stress and economic deprivation are also thought to be risk factors, in common with all ethnic groups.


People from a southern Asian background are three times more likely to contract glaucoma
However, very little is understood about why at-risk communities are so reluctant to seek help."