Diabetes has exploded in the United States. There are 20.8 million people or 6.2% of the population in the U.S. who have diabetes. Unfortunately, only 14.6 million have been diagnosed. Each day about 4110 are diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic disease that has no cure. It is the fifth deadliest disease in the United States.

The good news is if you have been diagnosed you may well be on the way to managing the illness. However, if you do have diabetes, but have not been diagnosed you may soon start to develop one of the many life-threatening symptoms.

To better understand the impact of Diabetes, you should understand what the disease is. Diabetes is caused when your pancreas does not produce insulin or the insulin is not used properly. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. There are various types of diabetes: Type 1 (formerly called Juvenile Diabetes) is an auto-immune disease in which the pancreas does not produce any insulin. Therefore daily injections of insulin are required. This most often occurs in children and young adults, accounting for less than 10% of diabetes. Type 2 (which is nearing epidemic proportions) is the most common type of diabetes. It is a metabolic disorder resulting from your body’s inability to make enough or properly use insulin. If your insulin is unable to convert the sugar and starches into energy, they stay in your blood stream, resulting in a high “blood glucose” level. This continual high level of blood sugar is what will lead to symptoms of diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy. 20% - 50% develop diabetes in 5-10 years of developing gestational diabetes with almost 70% of these women developing diabetes within their lifetime. There is also a Pre-diabetes that is a precursor to developing diabetes. Approximately 41M people in the U.S. have pre-diabetes.

Are you at risk? You have an increased risk for Type 2 diabetes if you are over 45 years old, have a family history of diabetes, overweight, do not exercise regularly, have low HDL (good) cholesterol or high triglycerides. Also if you are of certain racial or ethnic groups such as African American, Latinos, Asian/Pacific Islanders or Native Americans you are at increased risk. Approximately half of all new diabetes diagnosis now is coming from people older than 55 years of age. Over 20% of the U. S. population who are over the age of 65 has diabetes.

What are the life-threatening consequences of diabetes? Heart disease is the leading cause of diabetes related deaths. This is followed closely by the risk of stroke. Other symptoms of diabetes are high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, nervous system disorders that if left unmanaged can lead to lower-extremity amputations, and periodontal or dental disease. It is no wonder that diabetes is one of the most costly health problems in America. Health care and other costs directly and indirectly (disability, work loss) related to diabetes run about $132 Billion annually.

What are some of the warning signs you should heed? For Type 1 diabetes watch for frequent urination, unusual thirst, extreme hunger, unusual weight loss, extreme fatigue or irritability. For Type 2 look for all of the signs of Type 1 in addition to frequent infections, blurred vision, cuts or bruises that are slow to heal, tingling or numbing in the hands or feet, or recurring skin, gum or bladder infections. If you are over the age of 45, pay particular attention to these signs and report them to your physician.