Diabetes and its management

Abstract

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,1 25.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 8.3 percent of the nation's population, have been diagnosed with diabetes, a figure that has more than doubled since 1980. In addition, an estimated 7 million people are unaware that they have the disease, and as many as 79 million people may have prediabetes. It is important to note, however, that these estimates may understate diabetes' prevalence. For example, death certificates are likely to state the immediate cause of death and ignore diabetes, which may be a contributing factor. Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States1 and imposes a substantial cost burden on society, on those with diabetes, and on their families. Rates of work loss due to diabetesrelated complications are higher than for other disease groups.2. Copyright © 2012 by The University Press of Kentucky. All rights reserved.