2006 Georgia data summary: diabetes [Aug. 2006]

2006 Georgia Data Summary:
DIABETES

Diabetes is a common, serious, and costly disease, but it is controllable. In many cases, it is also preventable.

WHAT IS DIABETES?

PREVALENCE

Diabetes is a group of diseases marked by high blood glucose levels due to defects in insulin production, insulin action, or both. Diabetes can cause serious complications and premature death, but people with diabetes can take steps to control the disease and lower the risk of complications.1
TYPES OF DIABETES
Type 1 diabetes develops when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic beta cellsthe only cells in the body that make the hormone insulin that regulates blood glucose. To survive, people with type 1 diabetes must have insulin delivered by injection or a pump. This form of diabetes usually strikes children and young adults, although disease onset can occur at any age. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5% to 10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes usually begins as insulin resistance, a disorder in which the body cells cannot use insulin properly. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form, accounting for 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is a form of glucose intolerance that occurs in some women during pregnancy. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20% to 50% chance of developing diabetes in the next 5 to 10 years.
Other types of diabetes result from specific genetic conditions, surgery, drugs, infections, malnutrition, and other illnesses, accounting for 1% to 5% of all diagnosed cases.1

Diabetes is a COMMON disease in Georgia.
In 2004, approximately 475,000 adults aged 18 years and older in Georgia, 7.3% of the adult population, reported that they had been diagnosed with diabetes.
For every two persons with diabetes who have been diagnosed, another has not yet been diagnosed. Thus, approximately 238,000 additional adult Georgians have undiagnosed diabetes.
Thousands more are at increased risk of getting diabetes because of aging, obesity, unhealthy eating habits, and physical inactivity.
Georgia counties in the Southwest, Central, and Northeast regions tend to have higher age-adjusted diabetes mortality rates than the statewide average during 1999 through 2004.2

Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health 2 Peachtree Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30303 (404) 657-3103 gdphinfo@dhr.state.ga.us http://health.state.ga.us

Diabetes is a SERIOUS disease in Georgia.
In 2004, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death, killing 1,622 Georgians, equivalent to over 31 deaths every week.
For every death for which diabetes is the primary cause, there are two other deaths for which diabetes is a contributing cause.
Age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 population were 1.3 times higher for men (26) than for women (20). The rates were also twofold higher among blacks (37.8) than whites (18.7).
About 35% of diabetes deaths are in persons under the age of 65. In 2004, the proportion of diabetes deaths that were premature (before 65 years) was highest among black males (49.4%), followed by white males (37.0%), black females (35.2%), and white females (25.3%).

Age-adjusted diabetes death rates by race and sex, Georgia, 2004

Deaths per 100,000 population

60 Black White

38.0 40

37.1

23.1

20

15.4

0 Male

Female

Status of recommended routine care for persons with diabetes, Georgia, 2005

Minimum Recommendation
Annual doctor visit Diabetes education Daily self glucose monitoring Hemoglobin A1c testing Annual dilated eye exam Annual foot exam Annual influenza vaccination Pneumococcal vaccination

HP 2010 Objectives
--60% 60% 50% 75% 75% 60% 60%

Achievement
92% 55% 66% 79% 66% 71% 34% 26%

Diabetes is a COSTLY disease in Georgia.
In 2004, there were 15,499 hospitalizations for which diabetes was the principal diagnosis, resulting in nearly $240 million hospital charges and approximately 78,700 days or about 216 years of hospital stay.
In Georgia, the cost of diabetes due to medical care, lost productivity, and premature death is estimated to be over $4 billion per year.
The health care cost for a person with diabetes is approximately $13,200 per year compared with $2,600 per year for a person of comparable age without diabetes.3

Diabetes can contribute to blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, nerve damage, impotence, skin disorders, periodontal disease, pregnancy complications, disability, and premature death. Many complications can be prevented with early detection and comprehensive management.
In 2005, adults with diabetes in Georgia met only two national targets (Healthy People 2010 Objectives) for the recommended routine care for diabetes.

Data sources: 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National
diabetes fact sheet, Atlanta, 2005. 2. Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public
Health, Office of Health Information & Policy. 3. American Diabetes Association. Economic costs of diabetes
in the U.S. in 2002. Diabetes Care. 26: 927.
Date updated: August 2006 Publication number: DPH06.135HW
Visit http://www.health.state.ga.us/epi/cdiee/diabetes.asp for more information about diabetes in Georgia.

Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health 2 Peachtree Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30303 (404) 657-3103 gdphinfo@dhr.state.ga.us http://health.state.ga.us