Diabetes is a group of diseases that result in high blood glucose (too much sugar in the blood). People who have diabetes may develop health complications, such as blindness, kidney disease, heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, loss of lower limbs, and depression.

Statistics

According to the CDC 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report, 29.1 million people, or 9.3% of the population, have diabetes in the United States. Of the 29.1 million people with diabetes, 27.8% are undiagnosed. More than 1 out of 3 adults, or 86 million people, have prediabetes.

Medical costs for people with diabetes are twice as high as for people without diabetes, and the total medical costs as well as lost work and wages for people with diagnosed diabetes total $245 billion.

In the Riverside County of the Inland Southern California, 9 percent of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes, and diabetes are diagnosed at a higher rate among the elderly of age 65+ (20.7%), African Americans (10.7%), and Latino (10.8%).

Learn more about the types of diabetes

Recommended books on diabetes