All About Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.

There are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease.

Almost 17 million people in the United States have diabetes. Approximately 220,867 Coloradoans have the disease and another 92,764 are likely to have diabetes but do not know it. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Colorado has increased by about 50 percent since 1994.

  • Every week, 15,000 people in the U.S. learn they have diabetes
  • Today, someone with diabetes will die of its complications
  • Every day, 45 people with diabetes go blind
  • Every hour, 8 people with diabetes must have a foot, ankle or leg amputated to save their lives

 

 

Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

 

Types of Diabetes

Type I diabetes

Results from the body’s failure to produce insulin, the hormone that “unlocks” the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes

Results from insulin resistance (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency. Most Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women – about 135,000 cases in the United States each year.

Pre-diabetes

Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. There are 54 million Americans who have pre-diabetes, in addition to the 20.8 million with diabetes.

  • About Diabetes