Wednesday, July 02, 2008
CDC: Diabetes on the rise
Nearly 24 million Americans – 8 percent of the total population – have diabetes, according to new figures from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention.
Diabetes currently ranks as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. The release of the agency's 2007 Diabetes Fact Sheet indicates the number of diabetics has increased by more than 3 million in the last two years. Additionally, an estimated 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes, a condition that puts them at increased risk for developing the disease.
However, the data also indicated fewer diabetics are unaware of their condition. CDC estimated that over a two-year period the number of people who were unaware they had diabetes decreased to 25 percent from 30 percent.