00                   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 18                                                                   
01 Proclaiming November 2018 as Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month.                                                      
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS one in four Americans age 65 and older has diabetes, which puts each of                                 
04 these individuals at increased risk for vision loss and blindness; and                                                  
05       WHEREAS both type one and type two diabetes can result in diabetic retinopathy,                                 
06 which causes the small blood vessels in the eyes to leak and grow irregularly; and                                      
07       WHEREAS diabetic retinopathy can cause other blinding complications, such as                                    
08 macular edema, which causes swelling of the part of the eye responsible for detailed vision;                            
09 and                                                                                                                     
10       WHEREAS diabetic retinopathy affects 30 percent of people living with diabetes; and                             
11       WHEREAS annual dilated eye examinations can help prevent 95 percent of diabetes-                                
12 related vision loss;                                                                                                    
13       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims November 2018 as                                     
14 Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month.