In 2005, 20.8 million people of all ages – 7.0% of the population – suffer from diabetes, and about 6.2 million of them are undiagnosed. If not dying from the disease or its complications, people with diabetes spend millions of dollars treating it. The total annual cost of diabetes in 2002 was about $132 billion, representing about 11% of the total US health care expenditure that year and accounting for nearly 88 million disability days.
The impact of diabetes on the population’s health and the economy is clearly undeniable, but its impact on racial and ethnic minorities is even more profound. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and American Indians/Alaska Natives are roughly two times likely to have diabetes and suffer worse outcomes.
Unfortunately, the prevalence of diabetes among the Asian-American population is largely unknown. Yet in 2002, diabetes ranked 5th among the diseases that caused deaths in the Asian-American population. The potential burden – if it is not already - of this disease on Asian-Americans is immense considering that diabetes is closely associated with heart and cerebrovascular diseases that are the 2nd and 3rd causes of mortality within this group. The few studies that exist on this subject suggest that certain groups within this population have an increased and growing risk for diabetes. An ethnically-targeted information and education drive regarding diabetes is urgently needed for the at-risk Asian-American population.
Banyan Tree (Stephen Malkoff) Like the Banyan tree, our ideas can branch off and take root.
Personally, I am yet to meet a fellow Filipino-American whose family tree does not include someone with diabetes. As a group, we must pay serious attention to this disease and elevate our awareness of its risks and consequences.
In planning for this post, I visited the website of the American Diabetes Association and found a handy test that one can take to assess his or her risk of getting diabetes. The test is of course in no way an alternative to one's own doctor's assessment, but it can serve the purpose of teaching us the risks that we must watch out for. Take the ADA Diabetes Risk Test now. You can also click on this link and learn more about Type 2 diabetes and what you can do about it.
Diabetes is one of the most common and well-studied diseases, yet it continues to plague many people and cost tremendous amount of money as well as production and opportunity losses. There is yet no cure for diabetes once you get it, but you can certainly do something to prevent it.
