Silent Diabetes Still a Problem

More on the diabetes 'time bomb' via Ivanhoe Newswire;

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Even though the number of people diagnosed with diabetes has climbed over the last two decades, the number of people unaware they have the disease remains the same, reveals a new study from government
researchers.

Statistics from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal the number of Americans older than age 20 with diabetes has jumped from 5.1 percent to 6.5 percent since 1988, but about a third of those with the condition have been consistently unaware.

Diabetes is the most common cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations in adults and is a major contributor to heart disease and stroke.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 95 percent of all cases.

Analysis also revealed diabetes is twice as common in blacks as whites. Twenty-two percent of American seniors have diabetes, and 40 percent have a form of pre
diabetes.

"It's very important to know if you have pre-diabetes or undiagnosed type 2 diabetes," says Larry Blonde, M.D., chairman of the National Diabetes Education Program, which is sponsored jointly by the NIH and CDC.

"You should talk to your health care professional about your risk. If your blood glucose is high but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, losing weight and increasing physical activity will greatly lower your risk of getting type two diabetes. If you have diabetes, controlling your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol will prevent or delay the complications of diabetes," states Dr. Blonde.

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SOURCE: Diabetes Care, 2006;29:1263-1268