Center for Disease Control and Prevention Releases Alarming Numbers

On Tuesday, June 24, 2008, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million people, or roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population.

The report, based on data from 2007, said this new figure represents an increase of about 3 million over two years. The CDC estimates another 57 million people have blood sugar abnormalities called pre-diabetes. This pre-diabetes condition puts people at an increased risk for the disease.

And although the new report is both alarming and cause for concern, the percentage of people unaware that they have diabetes fell from 30 percent to 25 percent, according to the study. That means at least people are tuning in, albeit just a little, to their own bodies.

Dr. Ann Albright, director of the CDC Division of Diabetes Translation, said the report has "both good news and bad news."

"It is concerning to know that we have more people developing diabetes, and these data are a reminder of the importance of increasing awareness of this condition, especially among people who are at high risk," Dr. Ann Albright, director of the CDC Division of Diabetes Translation said in a statement.

"On the other hand, it is good to see that more people are aware that they have diabetes."

Diabetes results from defects in insulin production that cause sugar to build up in the body. This disease is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and causes serious health problems including, but not limited to, heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and amputations.

Among adults, diabetes increased in both men and women and in all age groups. The disease is still disproportionately high among the elderly -- almost 25 percent of the population 60 years and older had diabetes in 2007.

There appears to be some differences among various groups as well: after adjusting for population age, the rate of diagnosed diabetes was highest among American Indians and Alaska Natives (16.5 percent) and followed by blacks (11.8 percent), Hispanics (10.4 percent), Puerto Ricans (12.6 percent), Mexican Americans (11.9 percent), and Cubans (8.2 percent), Asian Americans (7.5 percent), whites (6.6 percent).