The name “silent killer” sounds ominous, but it’s an unfortunately accurate description of a chronic disease—diabetes—on the rise among Americans, many of whom aren’t even aware they have it. That’s the primary reason diabetes awareness has become a hot topic for health care professionals and researchers. On the fourth Tuesday of March, many will be observing American Diabetes Awareness Day, sometimes referred to as Diabetes Alert Day, to spread the word that 1 in 5 U.S. adults have diabetes and don’t even know they have it.
That equates to about 8.5 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—and those are just the people who are estimated to be living with it undiagnosed. Another 29.7 million people have been diagnosed, totaling 38.4 million all together, or 11.6 percent of adults in the United States.
One of the reasons health experts want to raise awareness is because those numbers are increasing significantly—the number of people with diabetes has more than doubled in the past 20 years. Most cases of diabetes—between 90 and 95 percent, depending on estimates—are type 2 diabetes, which often develops later in life.
All cases of diabetes involve an insufficient amount of insulin to deliver glucose in the blood to the body’s cells. With type 1 diabetes, which was previously known as juvenile diabetes because it’s often diagnosed in childhood, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin. With type 2 diabetes, the body is unable to produce enough insulin to effectively manage glucose levels in the blood. Risk of type 2 diabetes increases with age and weight, and most who are diagnosed are over the age of 45, have obesity, or have a family history of diabetes.
Doctors recommend a healthy lifestyle not only to reduce risk of developing diabetes but also to help control diabetes after diagnosis. A healthy diet low in refined carbohydrates, which break down into glucose faster than complex carbohydrates, and plenty of physical activity can help manage blood sugar levels.
Symptoms of diabetes to watch out for include frequent urination, unexplained hunger, or thirst despite eating and drinking normally, blurry vision, unexplained sudden weight loss, and tingling or numbness in hands or feet. Although diagnoses have been on the rise in recent decades, organizations such as the American Diabetes Association (ADA) remain optimistic that by spreading awareness it’s possible to not only reduce risk in populations but also make medical breakthroughs that can treat diabetes. Some researchers are looking to the advancement of artificial pancreas systems (also known as a bionic pancreas) or the use of stem cell therapy to regenerate insulin-producing beta cells in a pancreas that doesn’t produce insulin.
Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems continue to improve, as do insulin pumps for more accurate and effective delivery of insulin. PBS even reports that research is underway for a type 1 diabetes vaccine that would target the autoantibodies damaging cells in the pancreas.
If Diabetes Alert Day has you feeling more aware, you can learn more about research, advocacy, and resources available through the American Diabetes Association at diabetes.org.
