Fast Growing Diabetic Communities Help Communication

A new Diabetic community is fast growing. DiabeticDiscussion.com was founded by Christopher Berry, a Juvenille Diabetic since 1977.

"The goal of DiabeticDiscussion.com is to educate people on Diabetes and at the same time allow others to benefit by talking amongst themselves regarding the disease, said Christopher."

Total Prevalence of Diabetes in the United States, All Ages, 2005

Total: 20.8 million people—7 percent of the population—have diabetes.

Diagnosed: 14.6 million people

Undiagnosed: 6.2 million people

Complications of Diabetes in the United States
Heart disease and stroke

Heart disease and stroke account for about 65 percent of deaths in people with diabetes.


Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.


The risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes.
High blood pressure

About 73 percent of adults with diabetes have blood pressure greater than or equal to 130/80 mm Hg or use prescription medications for hypertension.


Blindness

Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20 to 74 years.


Diabetic retinopathy causes 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year.


Kidney disease

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44 percent of new cases in 2002.


In 2002 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 44,400 people with diabetes began treatment for end-stage kidney disease.


In 2002 in the United States and Puerto Rico,153,730 people with end-stage kidney disease due to diabetes were living on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant.


Nervous system disease

About 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage. The results of such damage include impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other nerve problems.


Almost 30 percent of people with diabetes aged 40 years or older have impaired sensation in the feet (i.e., at least one area that lacks feeling).


Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major contributing cause of lower-extremity amputations.


Amputations

More than 60 percent of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations occur among people with diabetes.


In 2002, about 82,000 nontraumatic lower-limb amputations were performed in people with diabetes.


Dental disease

Periodontal (gum) disease is more common in people with diabetes. Among young adults, those with diabetes have about twice the risk of those without diabetes.


Almost one-third of people with diabetes have severe periodontal diseases with loss of attachment of the gums to the teeth measuring 5 millimeters or more.


Complications of pregnancy

Poorly controlled diabetes before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy can cause major birth defects in 5 to 10 percent of pregnancies and spontaneous abortions in 15 to 20 percent of pregnancies.


Poorly controlled diabetes during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy can result in excessively large babies, posing a risk to both mother and child.


Other complications

Uncontrolled diabetes often leads to biochemical imbalances that can cause acute life-threatening events, such as diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar (nonketotic) coma.


People with diabetes are more susceptible to many other illnesses and, once they acquire these illnesses, often have worse prognoses. For example, they are more likely to die with pneumonia or influenza than people who do not have diabetes.

DiabeticDiscussion.com helps close the gap in communication between Diabetics. DiabeticDiscussion.com was founded in 2006 and has a sister site DiabeticLive.com which offers lenghty articles and recipes on Diabetes.

Christopher Berry
info@diabeticdiscussion.com
http://www.DiabeticDiscussion.com
http://www.DiabeticLive.com