The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that diabetes is the leading cause of new blindness in adults. According to the Prevent Blindness study, “The Future of Vision: Forecasting the Prevalence and Costs of Vision Problems,” more than 8 million Americans have diabetes-related retinopathy. Those numbers are projected to sharply increase in the future by 35 percent to 10.9 million by 2032, and a 63 percent increase to 13.2 million by 2050.