Impact of Diabetes

• 23.6 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, as of 2007.¹

• A stunning 23.1% of Americans age 60 and older have diabetes.¹

• 57 million people in the U.S. are estimated to have pre-diabetes,² meaning they have abnormally high blood glucose levels.

• Diabetes can lead to serious complications, such as kidney failure, blindness, limb amputation and cardiovascular disease.¹

• Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.¹

• The risk of stroke is 2 to 4 times greater in people with diabetes.¹

• Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2006, but is likely to be an underreported cause of death.¹

• According to the CDC, the estimated total cost of diabetes in the U.S. was $174 billion in 2007.¹

• On average, people with diagnosed diabetes have medical costs that are about 2.3 times higher than what costs would be without diabetes.¹

• People with diabetes age 60 and older are 2-3 times more likely to report an inability to walk one-quarter of a mile, to climb stairs, do housework or to use a mobility aide compared with people in the same age group without diabetes, according to the CDC.¹

1   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007, National Diabetes Fact Sheet.
2   American Diabetes Association. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics.jsp Accessed 6/1/09.