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Report: Number of diabetes patients rapidly rising

Rehab Private Practice Alert, November 2, 2005

Diabetes now affects nearly 21 million Americans-or 7% of the U.S. population-and more than 6 million of those people do not know they have diabetes, according to data last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the CDC, diabetes continues to be the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and there have been an additional 2.6 million diabetes cases since 2002, with another 41 million people with pre-diabetes.

The report also said:

  • In 2005, 1.5 million people aged 20 years or older will be newly diagnosed with diabetes.
  • Compared with non-Hispanic whites, diabetes continues to be more common among Native Americans and Alaskans, non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
  • The risk of diabetes increases with age, with about 21% of Americans ages 60 years or older having the disease.
  • The United States spends approximately $132 billion each year on diabetes--$92 billion in direct medical costs and another $40 billion on indirect costs, such as missed work days or losses in productivity.

    The report coincides with November being National Diabetes Month across the country as the CDC and the National Diabetes Education Program tries to spread awareness about the disease to the public and healthcare providers.

    The full CDC diabetes fact sheet can be found here.

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