Welcome to the first installment of "It’s that T.O.M. *Time Of the Month* Again". Call it my personal bout with Diabetic Awareness PMS. I will bring you Facts, Figures, News and Views, of the Who/What/When/Where/How, of WHY Global Diabetic Awareness is of such paramount importance in the lives of everyone, Diabetic or not, and the areas in which this *awareness* is lacking, or not making  *awareness* happen that should.

 

So to kick things off, I will give you just some of the Data and Statistics that will get you to understand the profound effect Diabetes has in our World.

 

And in doing so, I would also like to reinforce the Global in “Global Diabetic Awareness”. It is not just a geographical definition, but one of the awareness of how Diabetes affects so many facets of our life.

 

Get ready to become AWARE, and yes, every one of the following statistics are alarming:

______________________________________________

Every 24 hours:

4,100 new cases of diabetes are diagnosed

810 die from diabetes

230 people with diabetes will have a diabetes-related    amputation

120 new patients will require kidney dialysis or transplant

55 will go blind

******************

Diabetes prevalence is virtually the same in men and women,

******************

Total cost (direct and indirect): $174 billion a year. This amounts to $.5 BILLION DOLLARS EACH DAY

(experts agree that this is underestimated)

******************

Government data suggest that 2 million US children age 12-19 have pre-diabetes.

 ******************

Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death nationally â€" over 233,000 deaths per year

******************

Diabetes is a leading cause of adult blindness, lower-limb amputation, kidney disease and nerve damage.

******************

Two-thirds of people with diabetes die from a heart attack or stroke.

******************

23% have foot problems, including numbness and amputations.

******************

Nearly 65% of individuals with diabetes die from cardiovascular disease in the U.S., establishing it as the leading cause of death among this growing segment of the population

******************

National Center for Health Statistics says diabetes is the only major disease besides Alzheimer's with a death rate that continues to rise. Diabetes deaths have climbed 22 percent since 1990.

******************

Diabetes is a leading cause of adult blindness, lower-limb amputation, kidney disease and nerve damage.

******************

Two-thirds of people with diabetes die from a heart attack or stroke.

******************

Nearly 65% of individuals with diabetes die from cardiovascular disease in the U.S., establishing it as the leading cause of death among this growing segment of the population

 

Sources: National Diabetes Fact Sheet of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Heath Promotion; NCHS; CDC; ADA; AACE