Diabetic Facts

• 21 million Americans have diabetes. (7% of the population)
• 6 million individuals have diabetes and don’t know it.
• 41 million individuals are borderline diabetics.
• Diabetes kills more people than AIDS and breast cancer combined.
• 3 million Americans are hospitalized each year due to diabetes.
• Diabetes costs Americans an estimated $218 billion each year.
• Diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to create or effectively use its own insulin. Insulin is produced by islet cells found in the pancreas.
• Insulin helps regulate blood sugar (also known as blood glucose) levels and provide energy to body cells and tissues.
• Without insulin, the body’s cells would starve, causing dehydration and destruction of body tissue.
• Injecting insulin is not a cure for diabetes.  It is a critical life-saving treatment.
• Diabetes is the 6th leading cause of death by disease among adults and reduces life expectancy by one-third if not managed.
• Approximately 4,110 new diabetic cases are diagnosed each day.
• Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults ages 20-74.
• 65% of deaths among people with diabetes are due to heart disease and stroke.
• Persons with diabetes are 2-4 times more likely to develop heart disease than people without diabetes.
• 44% of all kidney failure is caused by diabetes.
• Diabetic patients are 17 times more prone to kidney disease than people who do not have the disease.
• Women with diabetes face high-risk pregnancies.

Source: American Diabetes Association and Centers for Disease Control