November is National Diabetes Awareness Month and November 14 is World Diabetes Day—a time to bring attention to diabetes and its impact on our families, friends, patients and community.
Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose (blood sugar), which leads over time to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves.
About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, the majority living in low-and middle-income countries, and 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 37 million U.S. adults have diabetes, and 1 in 5 don’t know they have the disease. An alarming 96 million American adults have prediabetes.
So, What Can You Do?
You can start by being proactive and getting screened for diabetes when you visit your primary care provider. It is important to stay active, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, and reduce stress when possible. If you already have diabetes or prediabetes, it is important to know your numbers and how to stay on target to help prevent or delay long-term, serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss and kidney disease. There are many resources you can use to help manage this chronic condition. We encourage you to find education and support to help people living with diabetes improve their quality of life.
*Source: World Health Organization, www.who.int
*Source: International Diabetes Federation, www.idf.org
*Source: Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/
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