The Grim Diabetes Statistics
The top 2 killers in the world are cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, do you know that you have higher risks of developing any or even both of them if you are suffering from diabetes? Despite the strong efforts of the government to reduce the diabetes statistics, the numbers just keep climbing.
Here are some vital figures, information, and trends you should know about this dreaded disease:
- There are different types of diabetes. Diabetes these days are not only labelled as type 1, type 2, or gestational. There are other forms and can be triggered by disease in the pancreas, medication or surgery, maturity-onset diabetes, and infection. However, they are not given enough attention because they only comprise at most 5 percent of the diagnosed diabetes cases.
- In 2009, the number of people in the United States who are suffering from diabetes is 23. 6 million. Unfortunately, almost 6 million of them are undiagnosed or are not aware that they are already exhibiting symptoms of the disease.
- The age of people with diabetes keeps on getting younger. Around 186,000 who are below 20 years old are diagnosed with diabetes. If nothing changes in the statistics, 1 out of 3 children will develop the illness while growing up.
- Diabetes is responsible for killing more than 230,000 people every year. If you are suffering from the disease, your risk of dying from it is twice compared to someone of similar age but doesn't have one. Diabetes is also responsible for the higher incidence of Alzheimer's Disease.
- The most dangerous of all types of diabetes is type 1 diabetes. It is caused by three factors: environment, genetics, or autoimmune capabilities of the body. With the latter, it means that the body destroys the beta cells of the pancreas, which produces insulin that controls body sugar. So far, there is no known cure or preventive measure against type 1 diabetes, though there are already several clinical trials that are conducted today. Around 5 to 10 percent of people diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.
- The most common type of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. This happens when the body becomes resistant to the production of insulin. There are a lot of factors that can cause this, including obesity, old age, and race.
- Around 90 to 95 percent with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. If the trend continues, the number of Americans who will have this will rise to 48 million by 2050. Over the last 10 years, the number of adults with type 2 diabetes has increased up to 10 times.
- For every hour, more than 4,000 cases will be diagnosed, and more than 800 of them will die. Over 50 will not be able to see anymore, while 120 will have to undergo kidney transplant or dialysis.
- At least 65% of people with diabetes die of some form of heart disease or stroke. Adults with diabetes have death rates between 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes. About 73% of adults with diabetes have blood pressure greater than or equal to 130/80 mmHG or use prescription medications for hypertension.
- Diabetic retinopathy causes 12-14k new cases of blindness each year. More than 60 percent of non-traumatic lower limb amputation occur in people with diabetes. The rate of amputation for peopel with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes.
- Eight percent of those with insulin resistance (pre-diabetes) are overweight. They have excess weight around the waist - more than 35.5 inches for men and 31.4 inches for women.
- There is a genetic connection in pre-diabetes. Almost 80 percent of them have a family history of type-2 diabetes.
- The Diabetes Prevention Study program concluded that that people with pre-diabetes can prevent type 2 diabetes if they make early changes to their diet and exercise more.
Effects of Diabetes in Health Care
Because of the complications brought about by the disease, it is not surprising that the government and you will be spending a lot of money in health care. The disease is responsible for more than $150 billion direct and direct costs every year. Moreover, a person with the illness will likely spend more than 3 times the expenses of someone who doesn't have the disease.
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