I have been around diabetes all my life. Although I myself don’t have it, my father was a diabetic for a little over 40 years and I learned about the disease and its dangers vicariously through him. Sadly, the number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million people, up about 3 million people from 2007. According to a recent article, a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that another 57 million people have other blood and sugar problems called pre-diabetes and these people are at a much higher risk for inheriting the disease.

So that’s the bad news. The good news however is that a higher percentage of people are aware that they have the disease, so they can seek treatment. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and can also cause a multitude of serious health problems such as heart disease, kidney failure and amputations. The disease transpires from a deficiency of insulin within the body causing sugar build up and it affects people of all ages. The report stated that the highest population affected with diabetes was among the elderly aged 60 years and older. It also determined what ethnicities carry the highest rate of diabetes. At the top of the list were American Indians and Alaska Natives with 16.5 percent of their population affected and rounding out the bottom were Asian Americans at 7.5 percent and whites at 6.6 percent.

No matter what the statistics may show, diabetes affects people all over the world including those family members that are supporting someone who has the disease. From personal experience I can honestly say I feel for those who must deal with the percussions that reel from the disease. Thankfully, research is still being conducted to determine more ways to help those who are suffering and as more diabetes treatment centers are springing up all over the country, there is hope on the horizon that a cure may be found one day.

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Tags: Group Health, Health, Health News, Healthy Living //