Some quick and interesting facts about diabetic illness in the United States might provide a few surprises. Many people without a diabetic in the house don’t realize how many households in this country are affected in some way with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Being the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S., surprisingly little publicity is given to diabetic illness when compared to other diseases like breast cancer, aids, or other medical conditions that often lead to death. And considering how many other serious complications diabetes illness is responsible for, one might wonder why we don’t hear more about diabetic illness. Besides Mary Tyler Moore, it’s hard to even think of a celebrity who has taken on the cause. Here are some quick facts you may not be aware of:

  • Diabetic illness affects almost 26 million people in the United States. This includes all types of diabetes, but is about 8.3% of the entire population of the country. That is a significant number!
  • A surprising 37% of people that have a diabetic illness don’t know they have it. So somewhere around 7 million U.S. residents are undiagnosed. This situation seems to beg for more publicity to encourage people to be tested during their annual physical, or at a doctor visit. The test is a simple, painless one. More publicity would lead to more people treating their diabetic illness at an earlier stage, reducing the cases of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and blindness. When properly treated, diabetes can be controlled and the diabetic can go on to live a healthy, almost normal life. Many cases of diabetic illness can be treated naturally, especially if caught early. This could lead to a drastic reduction in our national healthcare cost and a vast improvement in the quality of life for the diabetic. It is when the diabetes isn’t treated and blood sugar levels remain high over a long period that the major damage occurs.
  • Diabetic illness is the single leading cause of kidney failure in the country. It’s also the number one reason people go blind, and the leading cause of limb amputations that aren’t needed because of an accident.
  • In seniors, the numbers get even higher. 26.9% of people over the age of 65 in the U.S. had diabetes in 2010. That’s almost 11 million seniors.
  • On the other end of the age spectrum, 215,000 people under the age of 20 had one of the diabetic illness types. These are the people that will benefit most from properly taking care of themselves, since they still have so long to live. Taking control of the condition early can allow them to live a normal life, and not have much effect at all on their lifespan.