How often should people with diabetes have an eye test?
More often than people without it, and the interval is set for you rather than for everyone: it depends on whether retinopathy has been seen and how well your blood sugar and blood pressure are controlled. The screening interval is a clinical instruction, not a general rule.
- Subject
- Eye health
- Topic
- General health & the eye
- Kind of question
- How long…
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
Diabetic eye changes can be present and progressing without any change in vision, which is why the appointments happen on a schedule rather than when a symptom appears. That is the single most useful thing to take from this answer.
What this answer depends on
- Whether any retinopathy has been found before
- Your blood sugar control and blood pressure
- How long you have had diabetes
Related guides
People also ask
The questions readers move to next from this one: the closest subjects first, from either question bank.
Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Everyday eye health in General health & the eye . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Condition Glaucoma
- Condition Keratoconus
- Condition Retina and macula conditions
- Condition Diabetic eye disease
- Condition Eye infections, allergies and injuries
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Cataracts in adults: management (NG77)
Clinical guidance on when cataract surgery is indicated, what should be discussed before it, and what follow-up is expected.
Used for When cataract surgery is considered appropriate rather than cosmetic timing; What patients should be told before cataract surgery.
Link checked 23 September 2026
- Eye Health Information
Condition-by-condition eye health information from a US government research institute, written for patients rather than for clinicians.
Used for Plain-language explanations of eye conditions and their symptoms; Healthy vision and screening guidance.
Link checked 23 September 2026