DIABETES FACT #7~STARTLING FACTS

THE FACTS ABOUT DIABETES:
AMERICA’S SIXTH LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH

How many Americans have diabetes?
• 20.8 million Americans have diabetes — 7.0 percent of the U.S. population. Of these, 6.2 million do not know they have the disease.
• Each year, about 1.5 million people ages 20 or older are diagnosed with diabetes.1
• The number of people diagnosed with diabetes has risen from 1.5 million in 1958 to 14.6 million in 2005, an increase of epidemic proportions.

What is the prevalence of diabetes by type?
• Type 1 (previously called insulin-dependent or juvenile-onset) diabetes accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.
• Type 2 (previously called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset) diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.1 Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents.

What is the prevalence of diabetes by gender?
• 10.9 million men have diabetes (10.5 percent of all men ages 20 years and older).
• 9.7 million women have diabetes (8.8 percent of all women ages 20 years and older).

What is the prevalence of diabetes by age?
• 20.6 million Americans ages 20 or older have diabetes — 9.6 percent of this age group.
• 10.3 million Americans ages 60 or older have diabetes — 20.9 percent of this age group.
• 176,500 people under age 20 have diabetes – 0.22 percent of this age group.

HOW MANY DEATHS ARE RELATED TO DIABETES?
• Diabetes was the 6th leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 2002.
• Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among people with diabetes — about 65 percent
die of heart disease or stroke.
• Overall risk for death among people with diabetes is about 2 times that of people without diabetes.

How much does diabetes cost the nation?
• Total health care and related costs for the treatment of diabetes run about $132 billion annually.
• Of this total, direct medical costs (e.g., hospitalizations, medical care, treatment supplies) account for about $92 billion.
• The other $40 billion covers indirect costs such as disability payments, time lost from work, and premature death.

The above information was taken from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. National Diabetes Statistics fact sheet: general information and national estimates on diabetes in the United States, 2005. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, 2005.
Updated November 2005



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