Maculopathy is the commonest cause of severe visual loss from diabetic retinopathy in Jamaica [5]. Ophthalmic assessment of 158 black Jamaican maturity onset diabetics referred randomly from the primary and secondary health centres, demonstrated maculopathy in 48% of patients. Duration of diabetes was a strong risk factor for maculopathy (p less than 0.001). Poor compliance with diabetic and hypertensive therapy may influence the prevalence of maculopathy.