Americans with diabetes increase further to 26 million

Number of Americans with diabetes rise

There are now 26 million Americans suffering from diabetes and an additional 79 million in the "prediabetes" stage, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The National Diabetes Fact Sheet for 2011 figures show a rising trend of diabetes in the U.S. In 2008, the agency reported that there were 23.6 million Americans or 7.8 percent of the population who had diabetes. That same year 57 million people were estimated to have "prediabetes."

A separate study by the agency released last year showed that one in three Americans will have diabetes by 2050 if present trends continue.

Most diabetics in the country have type 2 diabetes wherein insulin sensitivity gradually declines over time. The culprit is weight gain and obesity health experts say, as more Americans eat fatty foods and exercise less.

The CDC said that last year some 1.9 million American adults found out that they had diabetes. But 7 million or about 27 percent of the estimated number who have diabetes still do not know that they have the disease.

"These distressing numbers show how important it is to prevent type 2 diabetes and to help those who have diabetes manage the disease to prevent serious complication such as kidney failure and blindness," said Ann Albright, the director of the Division of Diabetes Translation of the CDC. "We know that a structured lifestyle program that includes losing weight and increasing physical activity can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes," Albright added.

The CDC said diabetes costs $174 billion per year and is the seventh leading cause of death among Americans. Diabetes is often a precursor to other dreaded diseases like kidney failure and adverse cardiovascular events like heart attacks and stroke.

Posted by George Daniels on Saturday January 29 2011, 11:31 AM EST. Ref: Business Week. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0