About Diabetes
Prevalence
- Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.
- Another 79 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 unless we take steps to Stop Diabetes.
The Toll on Health
- Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.
- Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults.
- The rate of amputation for people with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes.
- About 60-70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage that could result in pain in the feet or hands, 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 health care dollars is spent treating diabetes and its complications.
- One in five health care dollars is spent caring for people with diabetes.
For more information in English and Spanish, call 1-800-DIABETES or visit stopdiabetes.com.
