A key objective of D.R.E.A.M. is to raise awareness about diabetes and inform the public of the growing epidemic of juvenile diabetes.
In support of that goal, below are some very important facts* everyone should know:
Total prevalence of diabetes
Total: 25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes.
Diagnosed: 18.8 million people
Undiagnosed: 7.0 million people
Prediabetes: 79 million people*
New Cases: 1.9 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older in 2010.
Under 20 years of age
- 215,000, or 0.26% of all people in this age group have diabetes
- About 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has diabetes
Age 20 years or older
- 25.6 million, or 11.3% of all people in this age group have diabetes
Age 65 years or older
- 10.9 million, or 26.9% of all people in this age group have diabetes
- 13.0 million, or 11.8% of all men aged 20 years or older have diabetes
- 12.6 million, or 10.8% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes
Morbidity and Mortality
- In 2007, diabetes was listed as the underlying cause on 71,382 death certificates and was listed as a contributing factor on an additional 160,022 death certificates. This means that diabetes contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths.
Heart disease and stroke
- In 2004, heart disease was noted on 68% of diabetes-related death certificates among people aged 65 years or older.
- In 2004, stroke was noted on 16% of diabetes-related death certificates among people aged 65 years or older.
- Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.
- The risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes.
High blood pressure
- In 2005-2008, of adults aged 20 years or older with self-reported diabetes, 67% had blood pressure greater than or equal to 140/90 mmHg or used prescription medications for hypertension.
- Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20–74 years.
- In 2005-2008, 4.2 million (28.5%) people with diabetes aged 40 years or older had diabetic retinopathy, and of these, almost 0.7 million (4.4% of those with diabetes) had advanced diabetic retinopathy that could lead to severe vision loss.
- Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44% of new cases in 2008.
- In 2008, 48,374 people with diabetes began treatment for end-stage kidney disease in the United States.
- In 2008, a total of 202,290 people with end-stage kidney disease due to diabetes were living on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant in the United States.
Nervous system disease (Neuropathy)
- About 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage.
- More than 60% of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations occur in people with diabetes.
- In 2006, about 65,700 nontraumatic lower-limb amputations were performed in people with diabetes.
Cost of Diabetes
Updated March 6, 2013
- $245 billion: Total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2012
- $176 billion for direct medical costs
- $69 billion in reduced productivity
After adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.
Factoring in the additional costs of undiagnosed diabetes, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes brings the total cost of diabetes in the United States in 2007 to $218 billion.
- $18 billion for people with undiagnosed diabetes
- $25 billion for American adults with prediabetes
- $623 million for gestational diabetes
*Source: American Diabetes Association National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 2011