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Don’t ignore diabetes
Because cancer is so closely associated with death, a diagnosis of the disease in a family member or friend is severely tragic news. But a diagnosis of diabetes is often not viewed as seriously.
That’s because the health consequences of this disease are not widely understood. But the truth is that diabetes is more deadly than many forms of cancer and becoming much more commonplace. If we want to stop losing our relatives and friends by the millions, we need to do a better job of educating and taking care of them.
While great strides have been made in the past 10 years in treating cancer and heart disease (traditionally the leading causes of death in the United States), resulting in lower mortality rates, the number of people afflicted with diabetes, or at risk for diabetes, has increased sharply.
Leading cause of death
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that diabetes is the nation’s leading cause of death, with one in 10 American adults afflicted with the disease. As of January 2011, some 18.8 million children and adults in the U.S. were diagnosed with diabetes, with an estimated 7 million more undiagnosed and 79 million others considered prediabetic.
Last year, 1.9 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 and older, and the risks increase with age. Even children and teenagers are developing Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
The number of diabetics could grow to one in three in the next 40 years, meaning that the number of Americans with the disease could triple by 2050, the CDC says. Today, diabetes is responsible for about $170 billion in health-care costs. The potential for increase is almost beyond comprehension.
Diabetes presents serious threats to health, including higher risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and blindness, along with other complications. As a podiatric physician and surgeon, I know firsthand that one of the most feared complications is amputation of the toes, feet and lower legs. Both the CDC and the American Diabetes Association report that more than 60 percent of lower-limb amputations not resulting from a traumatic injury, such as a car crash, occur in people with diabetes.
Growing costs
These complications all add to the growing costs. Despite improvements in care over the years, amputations of the toe, foot, and leg are still common. Many people with diabetes have artery disease, which reduces blood flow to the feet, and/or nerve disease, which limits feeling in the feet. These problems make it easy to get sores, ulcers or infections.
Even small injuries that would be a minor aggravation to most of us, can heal poorly and become infected, causing serious problems for diabetes patients.
Yet, having diabetes doesn’t have to result in amputations, blindness or dialysis, which are the worst-case complications. Although not “cured,” many people control their diabetes through proper diet and exercise and proper attention to their feet. Some even thrive without medication.
As a member of the medical community, and in this pre-election season, I call on my colleagues to support funding for better education and awareness. Each year, millions of dollars are allocated to research for improved treatment and even cures. And while we know research is important, we would like to see funds allocated to help diabetics better control their disease to avoid the worse-case scenarios.
Too often, people with diabetes who have lost their health-care insurance or can’t afford health care on their own avoid regular visits to their doctors or are not compliant with medication or preventative care. Proper funding for education, awareness and provision of treatment for those in need are critical steps to reducing the most dire consequences and cost of diabetes.
Dr. DiDomenico is the managing partner at Ankle & Foot Care Centers, a local group of podiatric physicians and surgeons.