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Diabetes Statistics |
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- 224,092: The number of annual deaths due to diabetes in the United States according to death certificate reports from 2002. (Diabetes is likely to be underreported as a cause of death.)
- 61%: The increase of Americans with diabetes since 1990.
- The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2002 was estimated to be $132 billion, or one out of every 10 health care dollars spent in the United States.
- 20.8 million: The estimated number of Americans who have diabetes.
- 270,000: The number of people in COLORADO who have diabetes.
- 1.5 million: The number of new cases of diabetes diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2005.
- 9.7 million: The number of women in the United States have diabetes
- The prevalence of diabetes is at least 2-4 times higher among African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, and Asian/Pacific Islander women than among white women.
[Reference: The statistics noted here are courtesy of the American Diabetes Association, and full references to studies and research methodology are available on the ADA website.]
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What is Diabetes? |
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Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes is a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors appear to play roles.
Type 1. An autoimmune disease in which the body does not produce any insulin, most often occurring in children and young adults. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to stay alive.
Type 2. A metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to make enough, or properly use, insulin. This form of the disease is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, prior history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity.
Gestational diabetes develops in 2 -5 percent of all pregnancies but disappears when a pregnancy is over. Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life. After pregnancy, 5-10% of women with gestational diabetes are found to have type 2 diabetes, and women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20-50% chance of developing diabetes in the next 5-10 years. |
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