Diabetic Macular Edema (DME): Epidemiology Forecast to 2034

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a vision-threatening complication of diabetes that is a major cause of vision impairment in diabetic individuals and is characterized by fluid accumulation in the macula due to a breakdown of the blood retinal barrier (BRB) (Cheema and Cheema, 2024). DME manifests as retinal thickening caused by the accumulation of intraretinal fluid, primarily in the inner and outer plexiform layers. It can occur due to hyperpermeability of the retinal vasculature. DME can occur with any level of diabetic retinopathy (DR) (Musat et al., 2015). The pathogenesis of DME is multifactorial and complex, with the hyperglycemic state caused by diabetes inducing multiple pathologic abnormalities, which ultimately lead to the sight-threatening conditions of macular edema and proliferative, neovascular retinopathy (Miller and Fortun, 2019). The common signs and symptoms of DME include blurry vision or double vision, difficulty seeing colors, dark spots or scotomas, straight lines seen as bent or curved, difficulty seeing during a glare or bright light, and seeing the same object in different sizes when seen with only alternate eyes (Macular Society, 2025).

In the 7MM, the diagnosed prevalent cases of DME in diabetes are expected to increase from 2,888,125 cases in 2024 to 3,463,149 cases in 2034, at an annual growth rate (AGR) of 1.99%. In 2034, the US will have the highest number of diagnosed prevalent cases of DME in diabetes in the 7MM, with 1,012,428 cases, whereas Japan will have the fewest diagnosed prevalent cases of DME in diabetes with 125,490 cases. GlobalData epidemiologists attribute the change in the diagnosed prevalent cases of DME in diabetes to changing prevalence trends in the 7MM and the changes in population dynamics in each market over the forecast period.

Scope

• This report provides an overview of the risk factors, comorbidities, and the global and historical epidemiological trends for DME in the seven major markets (7MM: US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and Japan).
• The report includes a 10-year epidemiology forecast for the diagnosed prevalent cases of DME in diabetes. The diagnosed prevalent cases of DME are segmented by sex and age (ages 20 years and older) in these markets.
• The diagnosed prevalent cases of DME are further segmented by involvement of the eye by center involving DME (ci-DME), and non-center involving (nci-DME). This epidemiology forecast for DME is supported by data obtained from peer-reviewed articles and population-based studies.
• The forecast methodology was kept consistent across the 7MM to allow for a meaningful comparison of the diagnosed prevalent cases of DME across these markets.