20.8 million Americans now have diabetes, up 14 percent since 2003
Newly released statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) illustrate that diabetes has risen by over 14 percent in the last two years.

The CDC estimates that 20.8 million Americans – 7 percent of the U.S. population – have diabetes, up from 18.2 million in 2003. Nearly a third of these Americans are undiagnosed. According to the American Diabetes Association the new numbers highlight the growing diabetes epidemic in the United States and reinforce the need for increased research and prevention. The CDC's report also demonstrates the need for all Americans with diabetes to have access to affordable and adequate health care.

"This study confirms what we already know: diabetes is one of this country's most prolific and deadly diseases," said Robert A. Rizza, MD, President of the American Diabetes Association. "Diabetes touches all of us in some way, which is why we must continue to work together to find a cure for diabetes and to improve the lives of the nearly 21 million Americans affected by diabetes."

"The facts tell the story of the severity of diabetes," said Lawrence T. Smith, Chair of the Board of the American Diabetes Association. "With an increased commitment to diabetes research and prevention, fewer and fewer Americans will develop diabetes. With improved health care, the 21 million Americans with diabetes can better manage and control this chronic condition."

Additional facts:

• The total direct and indirect diabetes costs in the United States in 2002 was $132 billion.
• Diabetes remains a leading cause of heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and amputations.
• Since 1987, the death rate due to diabetes has increased by 45 percent, while the death rates due to heart disease, stroke and cancer have declined.
• Minorities are at a greater risk for diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. After adjusting for population age differences, non-Hispanic blacks are 1.8 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites, while Mexican Americans – the largest Hispanic subgroup – are 1.7 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites.
  

For more information please visit www.diabetes.org.