Julie Steenhuysen of Reuters wrote a fascinating piece about the skyrocketing costs of treating people who suffer from complications caused by diabetes.
According to Steenhuysen’s story, poorly managed diabetes — which can lead to problems with a person’s heart, kidneys, and eyes, and more — costs the American health system nearly $23 billion a year. (For a disheartening example of the hideous damage diabetes can do, read this USA Today story by reporter Anita Manning, which profiles a former IBM executive whose diabetes ultimately cost him his left leg and a toe on his right foot.)
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists sponsored this eye-opening report, called "State of Diabetes Complications in America", which was presented to the AACE’s recent annual meeting in Seattle.
The report also reveals the alarming statistic that 67% of American diabetics have blood sugar levels that exceed the AACE’s recommendations — click here to see what percentage of diabetics in each of the 50 states have blood sugar levels that are too high.
Sad, scary stuff.
From Jennifer Moore