3 Important Tips To Manage Diabetic Health
November 13, 2014
November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and the faculty physicians at the Midwestern University Clinics in Glendale have some important things to tell you about managing your health.
- Get your feet examined. People with diabetes are at greater risk for problems with their nerves and the blood flow to their feet, which can also result in skin ulcers, infections, and issues with foot muscles and joints.
- Get a flu shot. Patients with diabetes are at a higher risk for flu.
- Get your eyes checked. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of visual impairment in the United States. Diabetic retinopathy is responsible for more than 20,000 new cases of blindness every year. Early detection and proper management can help reduce severe vision loss from diabetic retinopathy by as much as 60 percent.
Fast Facts about Diabetes
Prevalence
- Nearly 30 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes
- Another 86 million Americans have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes
- Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes in 2050
The Toll on Health
- People with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized for a heart attack or stroke
- Diabetes causes nearly 50 percent of all cases of kidney failure
- More than half of all amputations in adults occur in people with diabetes
- More than half a million American adults have advanced diabetic retinopathy, greatly increasing their risk for severe vision loss
- About 60-70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage that could result in pain in the feet orhands, slowed digestion, sexual dysfunction and other nerve problems
Cost of Diabetes
- The American Diabetes Association estimates that the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $245 billion
- Direct medical costs reach $176 billion and the average medical expenditure among people with diabetes is 2.3 times higher than those without the disease
- Indirect costs amount to $69 billion (disability, work loss, premature mortality)
- One in 10 healthcare dollars is spent treating diabetes and its complication
- One in five healthcare dollars is spent caring for people with diabetes
(Source: Diabetes.org)
