Betty White revealed to Closer Weekly that Mary, 77, is almost beyond the point of being able to see.
“Her eyesight is what the big problem is right now,” she told Closer.
Mary, who became well-known on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 33.
Actor Dick Van Dyke, who played her husband on The Dick Van Dyke Show, told Closer she wasn’t well.
“She’s really having a battle with it, I’m sorry to say,” he said.
Almost 1.1 million Australians currently have diagnosed diabetes. Everyone with diabetes has a risk of developing diabetic retinopathy – a complication of diabetes that damages blood vessels inside the retina at the back of the eye.
Diabetes Australia recommends everyone who has diabetes to have their eyes checked at least every two years.
Last year, the Australian Government developed a new national strategy to tackle the nation’s diabetes epidemic.
Minister for Health, Peter Dutton said people with diabetes often faced other chronic diseases.
“Many of these diseases and associated complications can be prevented by targeting shared risk factors such as obesity,” he said.