PENNSYLVANIA Cost council study reports increase in diabetes diagnoses

HARRISBURG (AP) -- The number of hospitalizations in Pennsylvania involving diabetes is continuing to rise at a significant rate, according to a study released today by a state agency.
In 2001, there were 298,941 hospitalizations in which diabetes was either a primary or secondary diagnosis, according to the study by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.
The figure represented an increase of 4.4 percent from 2000 and an increase of nearly 17 percent since 1997, the report said. Additionally, diabetes-related hospitalizations accounted for 16.5 percent of all inpatient hospitalizations in 2001, up from 14.7 percent in 1997.
"Obviously, we need to continue if not redouble our efforts to diagnose, and more importantly, manage the treatment of this terrible disease," said Marc P. Volavka, the council's executive director.
Diabetes is a condition of insulin deficiency or a diminished ability of the body to use the hormone, which is needed to help sugar enter body cells, synthesize proteins and store fats. Sugar and fats in the bloodstream damage vital organs and contribute to heart disease.
The disease affects more than 500,000 Pennsylvanians, according to the council, and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.
Matt Petersen, director of diabetes information resources for the American Diabetes Association, said Pennsylvania's statistics appear to mirror a national trend. The association is in the process of updating its statistics on diabetes-related health-care costs, which were estimated at $44 billion nationwide in 1997.
In 1999, about 11.1 million Americans reported that they had diabetes, compared to more than 8 million in 1995, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.