Diabetes by the Numbers

February 7, 2020

Associate Editor of Patient Care Online

Over 70% of US adults with diabetes have hypertension, 15.6% of these patients have an A1c value >9%, and more fast facts on diabetes risk factors and patient characteristics.

Approximately 1.5 million US adults are diagnosed with diabetes every year, but roughly 9 in 10 Americans without the disease do not understand the full extent of the struggle that many diabetes patients face and the same goes for the nearly 1 in 4 people with diabetes who are unaware they have it. To help spread awareness, WalletHub recently released 2019 data compiled from a range of US government and other authoritative sources on diabetes facts and statistics including prevalence and economic burden. In the slides below, you'll find 13 fast stats on diabetes risk factors and patient characteristics that you can use to educate any patient.Â

37% increase in risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) for smokers vs non-smokers

>90% of patients with T2DM are overweight or obese

65% of adults with diabetes have high cholesterol

26% decrease in the risk of T2DM if patients get 2.5 hours of exercise/week

73.6% of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure

15.6% of adults with diabetes have an A1c value >9%

63% of adults with diabetes test their blood daily

1 in 200 patients with diabetes ultimately have a limb amputated

18% of adults with diabetes die within 90 days following a limb amputation

1 in 3 adults with diabetes may have chronic kidney disease

20% of adults with diabetes have experienced impaired vision

60%-70% of adults with diabetes will experience nerve damage

14 & 18 years decrease in life expectancy for the average boy and girl, respectively, who develop type 1 diabetes before age 10

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