11 Facts About Diabetes

1. Around 23.6 million children and adults – 8% of the population – have diabetes.
2. About 5.7 million people don’t know they have diabetes.
3. Two million adolescents (or a sixth of overweight adolescents) aged 12-19 have pre-diabetes.
4. Reports suggest that Type 2 diabetes, although still rare, is being diagnosed more frequently in children and adolescents, particularly in Native American, African American and Hispanic/Latino Americans.
5. Diabetes can double the risk of depression.
6. Exercise can help control blood glucose levels.
7. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20% to 50% chance of developing diabetes in the next five to ten years.
8. Diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death in 2002, but could be even higher because it often goes unreported.
9. Heart disease and stroke account for about 65% of deaths in people with diabetes.
10. Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20-74 years.
11. More than 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations occur in people with diabetes.

Sources
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
American Diabetes Association