Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced in one’s pancreas. Insulin is needed to convert the food that one eats to energy so that one can perform daily activities. It also allows food to be stored for later use.
The cause of diabetes has been linked to both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise.
There are 20.8 million people in the United States with diabetes. This represents 7% of the US population. The prevalence of diabetes in Michigan is 7.6%. Only 14.6 million people in the US have been diagnosed with diabetes, the other 6.2 million people (nearly one-third) are unaware that they have diabetes, and are not controlling it. Diabetes is a silent disease. The symptoms are usually mild at best, and do not prompt people to seek medical attention.
It is estimated that about 41 million people in the US have pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes means that blood sugar levels are elevated above normal but not as high as needed to diagnose diabetes. These people can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes if they adopt a healthier lifestyle which includes 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 days a week and making healthier food choices that will achieve a healthy body weight.
Diabetes is associated with an increased risk for many serious, sometimes life-threatening complications. Good diabetes management can help reduce your risk. However, many people are not even aware that they have diabetes until they develop one of its complications, which include:
These complications can be prevented or the progression delayed if diabetes is kept under good control.
Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to 224,092 deaths in 2002. But the toll is thought to be much higher, as diabetes is often not reported on death certificates of people with multiple chronic diagnoses.
The total cost of diabetes in 2002 (both direct and indirect) is estimated at 132 billion dollars.