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A new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows approximately 24 million Americans are afflicted with diabetes, a staggering increase of 15 percent in two years.
Based on the report findings, an estimated 8 percent of people in the U.S. have type-2 diabetes which can be associated with poor diet, obesity, and lack of exercise.
Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States.
The report, based on the most recent data available from 2007, estimates 57 million people have “prediabetes,” a condition that increases the risk of developing diabetes, stroke, eye disease and heart disease.
Some 6 million people are unaware they have the disease. But, that is where the good news comes in – the percentage of people in this category declined from 30 percent to 25 percent.
“The data is a reminder of the importance of increasing awareness of this condition, especially among people who are at high risk,” said Dr. Ann Albright, director of the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation.
The most recent CDC statistics are compiled from 2005. Twenty-five percent of the population 60 years of age and old had diabetes in 2007.
The highest rates of those diagnosed with diabetes are among Alaska Natives and Native Americans (16.5 percent), followed by African Americans (11.5 percent) and Hispanics (10.4 percent). By comparison Asian Americans are at a lower 7.5 percent and whites at 6.6 percent.
The American Diabetes Association estimates 50.2 million people will be diagnosed with diabetes by 2025. By 2030, the number of people with diabetes worldwide will double to 366 million, according to estimates by the World Health Organization.
Diabetics resist the efficient use of insulin, which converts sugars from foods into energy. Instead the sugar circulates in the blood stream, erodes blood vessels and results in insufficient levels of insulin. Diabetes can lead to serious health complications and often times can be fatal.
Diabetes is manageable and people can take precautions to help prevent, control and lower the health risks and difficulties commonly associated with the disease. #