Diabetes Rates Rise Another 6 Percent in 1999

[Kuester, Sarah]

Please pardon the cross-posting.

Hello.  Below is a CDC press release describing the rise
in diabetes during 1999.

Thank you,
Sarah Kuester
Public Health Nutritionist
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
sak2 at cdc.gov 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CDC
Press Release
Embargoed Until January 26, 2001				

Contact:   	
Tim Hensley 770-488-5820 
or Mary Kay Sones
770-488-5131
	

Diabetes Rates Rise Another 6 Percent in 1999

	Diabetes rates rose a striking 6.0 percent among 
adults in 1999 according to researchers at the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The new findings 
are reported in the February issue of Diabetes Care, a journal 
of the American Diabetes Association, and are further evidence 
that diabetes is a major public health threat of epidemic 
proportions.  Currently more than 16 million Americans have 
diabetes and about a third do not know they have the disease. 
	This new report is a follow-up to a study CDC released 
in September showing that from 1990 to 1998 diagnosed 
diabetes, including gestational diabetes, rose 33 percent  
(4.9 percent to 6.5 percent) among U.S. adults.  That study 
also linked the increase in diabetes with the rising rates of 
obesity, a major risk factor for diabetes.  The prevalence of 
obesity increased significantly from 17.9 percent in 1998 to 
18.9 percent in 1999, an increase of 5.6 percent in one year 
and 57 percent from 1991.   
	"This dramatic new evidence signals the unfolding 
of an epidemic in the United States," said Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, 
director of CDC. "With obesity on the rise, we can expect 
diabetes rates to increase sharply as a result.  If these 
dangerous trends continue at the current rates,  the impact 
on our nation's health and medical care costs in future years 
will be overwhelming," Koplan said.    In 1997, an estimated 
$98 billion was spent on health care associated with diabetes. 
	Both the September report and the follow-up data 
were derived from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance 
System (BRFSS),  an ongoing data collection program 
conducted by state health agencies in collaboration with CDC.   
	According to the 1999 survey, increases in diabetes 
were noted in every category examined including sex, age, 
race, education, weight and smoking status.  Prevalence 
increased among both women (7.4 percent to 7.6 percent) 
and men (5.5 percent to 6.0 percent) and among all ethnic 
groups including whites (5.9 percent  to 6.2 percent), blacks 
(8.9 percent to 9.9 percent), Hispanics (7.7 percent to 8.0 
percent) and all others (6.6 percent to 7.7 percent).  
	 "Despite these dramatic increases, we are encouraged 
that maintaining healthy behavior such as controlling weight 
through nutrition and physical activity can help ease the burden 
of diabetes and may actually prevent its onset," said Dr. Frank 
Vinicor, director of CDC's diabetes program. 
	Approximately 800,000 new cases of diabetes are 
diagnosed each year.  It is the seventh leading cause of death 
in this country and a major contributor to serious health problems 
such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, high blood pressure, 
kidney disease, and amputations. 
	CDC works in collaboration with the National Institute 
of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in 
sponsoring the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), 
an initiative involving both public and private partners to improve 
diabetes treatment, promote early diagnosis, and maintain quality 
of life for people who have diabetes.
	For more information on diabetes, visit CDC's Web site:   
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes or call toll free: 877-CDC-DIAB (877-232-3422).

For information about nutrition and physical activity, call toll free 
at 888-CDC-4NRG (888-232-4674) or visit http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa.  
To obtain copies of geographic maps showing diabetes and obesity 
trends in the United States, call the press contacts listed above. 

###

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