Diabetes is a common disease...
The 2005 estimates reveal that 543,000 adults in North Carolina or 8.4% of the population are diagnosed with diabetes.
Nationwide, there are over 24 million people who are diagnosed with the disease. The number of people newly diagnosed with diabetes is growing by approximately 1 million a year.
Diabetes creates serious complications...
People with diabetes suffer from many complications of the disease including cardiovascular disease, stroke, blindness, end-stage renal disease, neuropathy, and limb amputation.
In North Carolina, there were 2,453 lower extremity amputations in 2002 and 6,009 people with diagnosed end-stage renal disease in 2005 because of diabetes.
In 2003, there were 157,374 diabetes-related hospitalizations, of which 47,608 were for cardiovascular disease in North Carolina. People with diabetes have more hospitalizations and longer lengths of stay in the hospital than those without the disease.
Diabetes is a costly disease...
In addition to the emotional and financial burden on individual families, diabetes exacts a financial toll on North Carolina – in 2007, the direct and indirect health care costs of diabetes totaled approximately $5.3 billion.
The estimated costs of diabetes in 2007 are $174 billion in the U.S. This includes $116 billion in direct medical care and $58 billion in reduced productivity, absenteeism, and disability.
The Special Diabetes Program benefits North Carolina...
North Carolina has received almost $67.6 million in research funding from the Special Diabetes Program for Type 1 Research.
Nationwide there are over 60,000 children and adults in clinical trials funded through the Special Diabetes Program. It is an exciting milestone for the citizens of North Carolina who understand that we are getting closer to new treatments and cures when we are in the clinical trials phase of the research process.
Tribal communities in North Carolina that are disproportionately affected by diabetes have received $7.3 million from the Special Diabetes Program for Indians for care and prevention efforts. These programs have reduced A1C levels in this population which translates to a 40% reduction in diabetes-related complications
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