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Treating someone with complications from type
2 diabetes costs three times that of the average
American without diabetes, and the disease and
its complications are more likely to strike those
with the lowest incomes who can least afford
out-of-pocket expenses and missed work.
Primarily an imbalance of blood sugar and
insulin, diabetes’s high cost stems from its
secondary complications. For example, the study
estimates that people with diabetes develop
congestive heart failure eight times more often,
heart attacks five times more often, and stroke
three times more often. Plus, many people don’t
have just one—one in three has one other
serious health problem, one in ten has two,
and one in fifteen has three.
In addition, many don’t know they have it until
serious complications develop. “It can be a silent
disease,” Manning says, “doing years of damage
to someone’s kidneys, arteries, heart, and eyes.
Some of this damage can’t be reversed.”
“The report makes it clear that we have a major
national issue when it comes to diabetes management,
and that urgent action is needed,”
says Einhorn.
The devastating consequences of diabetes can be
avoided when the disease is managed properly
with diet, exercise, medication, and frequent
check-ups. “My hope,” says Manning, “is that
the report can bring about change in the way we
manage type 2 diabetes to help reduce both the
physical and financial burdens.”
Barbara Ray
* The report is available at www.stateofdiabetes.com/. Partial funding was provided by GlaxoSmithKline.
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