One of the American Diabetes Association’s primary objectives is to raise awareness and understanding of diabetes, its consequences, management and prevention of type 2 diabetes. American Diabetes Month is an important element in this effort, with programs designed to focus the nation’s attention on the issues surrounding diabetes and the people impacted by the disease. In 2012, the Association launched a socially focused initiative for American Diabetes Month called A Day in the Life of Diabetes, to demonstrate the impact diabetes has on our families and communities across the country.
Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes in 2050, and an additional 79 million Americans are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association estimates that the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $245 billion.
Diabetes is a serious disease. If it isn’t managed, it can damage many parts of the body, leading to heart attacks, strokes, amputation, blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage. But there is good news: diabetes complications can be prevented or delayed by properly managing blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Eating healthy, being physically active and quitting smoking also can help lower the risk of diabetes complications.
About Diabetes: Prevalence
Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.
Another 79 million Americans have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take steps to Stop Diabetes.
The Toll on Health
Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.
Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults.
The rate of amputation for people with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes.
About 60-70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage that could result in pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion, sexual dysfunction and other nerve problems.
Cost of Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association estimates that the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $245 billion.
o Direct medical costs reach $176 billion and the average medical expenditure among people with diabetes is 2.3 times higher than those without the disease.
o Indirect costs amount to $69 billion (disability, work loss, premature mortality).
One in 10 health care dollars is spent treating diabetes and its complications.
One in five health care dollars is spent caring for people with diabetes.
For more information in English and Spanish, call 1-800-DIABETES or visit stopdiabetes.com. Follow The American Diabetes Association on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AmericanDiabetesAssociation) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/AmDiabetesAssn).