10 Important Facts About Diabetes
1. Each year, about 1.3 million people aged 20 or older are diagnosed with diabetes.
2. The three main kinds of diabetes are:
• Type 1: called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependant diabetes is typically diagnosed when the patient is a child, teenager, or young adult.
• Type 2: called adult-onset or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, it is the most common form of diabetes, and can be developed at any age.
• Gestational diabetes: caused by the hormones of pregnancy or a shortage of insulin, some women develop this disease during the late stages of pregnancy. Though it usually goes away after the baby is born, women who have gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
According to a study of 3,234 people at high risk for type 2 diabetes, diet and exercise resulting in a 5-7% weight loss can delay and possibly prevent the disease.
4. In 2000, diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death. About 65% of deaths among those with diabetes are attributed to heart disease and stroke, causing the disease to be underreported as a cause of death.
5. In 2002, diabetes cost the United States $132 billion— $40 billion in indirect costs such as time lost from work, disability payments, and premature deaths, and $92 billion in medical costs.
6. Ten to 21% of all people with diabetes develop kidney disease.
7. Diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, accounting for about 43 percent of new cases. In 2000, approximately 41,046 people with diabetes initiated treatment for end stage renal disease (kidney failure), and 129,183 underwent dialysis or kidney transplantation.
8. Diabetes occurs more frequently in non-Caucasians than Caucasians. In 2002, of every 1000 people, 6.3 Caucasians had the disease, compared to 10.8 African Americans, and 10.1 Hispanic Americans.
9. Diabetes currently affects 18.2 million people, or 6.3% of the U.S. population. Of those affected, only 13 million have been diagnosed.
10. Because a large segment of the American population is aging, and minority groups make up some of the fastest-growing segments of the United States population, the prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. is predicted to reach 8.9% of the population by 2025.
Facts brought to you by The American Society of Nephrology, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Diabetes Association.