Introduction:

Diabetic retinopathy can be prevented with the optimal control of diabetes mellitus; however, the constant arrival of patients with a diagnosis of advanced diabetic retinopathy to ophthalmologic centers points to insufficient primary prevention of this disease.

Objective:

To propose practical tools related to the main risk factors that can be controlled or modified in diabetic patients to achieve a more effective primary prevention of diabetic retinopathy.

Methods:

Articles concerning the prevention of diabetic retinopathy in primary healthcare were consulted, covering the months of November-December 2020 and January 2021, published in various journals and indexed in the PubMed, SciELO and Medscape databases; together with other related texts, websites and blogs from 2010 onwards. The used syntaxes were retinopatía diabética [diabetic retinopathy], prevalencia y prevención de retinopatía diabética [prevalence and prevention of diabetic retinopathy], prevención primaria [primary prevention], complicaciones oculares de la diabetes mellitus [ocular complications of diabetes mellitus] and factores de riesgo de la retinopatía diabética [risk factors for diabetic retinopathy].

Conclusions:

The addition of new strategies to the control or modification of the main risk factors in diabetic patients is an alternative to perfect primary prevention of diabetic retinopathy.

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