Education can play a key role against Diabetes!

If we consider the data provided by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in their National Diabetes Fact sheet for 2011, then you will be shocked to see what the statistics show–

• 8.3% of the population of the country including children have diabetes.
• 18.8 million people have been diagnosed with Diabetes, and there are 7 million more who are at risk, but so far have not been diagnosed.
• 79 million people are known to be going through the prediabetes stage.

For a disease like Diabetes, education and awareness are the only solutions.
Most people are not aware of the seriousness of diabetes, and the fact that it could be the root-cause of many other health problems. Here is a sneak peak at some more statistics (provided in the ADA fact sheet for the year 2011) that reflect the prevalence of health problems because of diabetes –

• The risk of a stroke among people affected with diabetes is 2-4% higher than compared to normal people.
• Statistics show that in 2004, 68% of the people who died because of heart troubles had diabetes.
• From 2005-2008, 4.2million people were reported to have diabetic retinopathy (a medical condition that can lead to blindness).
• As of 2008; 202,290 people in the United States were reported to suffer from end-stage kidney disease due to diabetes, and had to undergo kidney transplants.
• In 2006, 65,700 people had to undergo non-traumatic lower limb amputations because of diabetes.
• About 1 in every 400 children and adolescents, i.e. 215,000 people under the age of 20 years, suffer from diabetes.

Are you shocked by this revelation? Well you should be.
Keeping in mind that there has been no reliable cure found for the disease so far, it becomes imperative to be aware about the dangers associated with this disease, and the ways in which you can minimize them.
Professionals suggest that being aware of the on-going research on diabetes, and problems associated with various fields linked to it like cardiology, lipodology, and others is of great help to avoid undergoing treatments because of this medical condition.
Having discussed all the facts regarding Diabetes, you can clearly understand the significance of education in combating this disease. So, always update your knowledge and that of your family on this topic.