Diabetes; a word most people hear, but few fully understand.
November is National Diabetes Month, and this year’s focus is raising awareness about the disease and its burden in the United States.
Kyler Gallinger, the mother of a type 1 diabetic, said that awareness is key if organizations that fight diabetes area going to get funding.
“Awareness is the key. It makes us personally aware of the symptoms of diabetes and realize we may have to get tested,” Gallinger said.
According to the 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report released by the CDC about 29.1 million people have diabetes in the United States. Out of that 29.1 million about 25 percent are undiagnosed or do not know they have diabetes. There are also 86 million people who have pre-diabetes in the U.S.
Without weight loss and moderate physical activity this will result in type 2 diabetes. 15-30 percent of these 86 million will develop type 2 diabetes within two to five years. Those with diabetes have a higher rate of having serious medical complications than those who do not. Generally risk of death for those who have diabetes is 50 percent higher than those without.
Raising awareness of diabetes not only makes the public more educated on the issue; but it also provides hope for many people.
“Everywhere in our house is the word ‘hope.’ That means a future for my daughter,” Gallinger said. “It reminds us that although there may not be a cure yet, our cure lies in the hands of the companies that create state of the art diabetes pumps, the bionic pancreas and faster acting insulin. Raising awareness brings our family hope.”
According to discoveriesmagazine.org, 246 million people worldwide live with diabetes. 10 percent of those are type 1 diabetetics while 90 percent are made of type 2. It also goes on to say for every $4 spent by a hospital, one of those will be attributed to diabetes. Direct medical cost from diabetes is around $116 billion dollars while indirect costs, such as lost wages, disability or premature mortality, accounts for $58 million.
Diabetes is a serious condition and is warranted a national month in order to help spread the word and allow people to be educated and know it can be managed.
Ben Thompson Jr., the father of a diabetic daughter, said that, with the proper strategy, the symptoms of diabetes could be marginalized.
“With a positive attitude, self-discipline and access to good diabetes education, it can be managed. My daughter is proof that with these tools Diabetes does not define her but is part of who she is,” Thompson said. “I look forward to the day when we find a cure.”
