Nearly 21 million individuals in the United States, or 7% of the population, have diabetes.
Almost one third of all people with diabetes are unaware they have the disease.
Another 41 million individuals in the U.S. have a condition known as pre-diabetes, or impaired glucose tolerance. Unless treated, pre-diabetes dramatically increases the risk for developing type 2 diabetes and increases the risk of heart disease by nearly 50 percent.
From 1980 through 2004, the number of Americans with diabetes more than doubled (from 5.8 million to 14.7 million).
Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death by disease in the United States, contributing to over 200,000 deaths a year.
Diabetes is a major contributor to heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. In adults, diabetes is the leading cause of new blindness, end-stage renal failure, and non-traumatic lower limb amputations. People with diabetes are 2 to 4 times more likely than the general population to have heart disease or to suffer a stroke.
The economic cost of diabetes is conservatively estimated at $132 billion annually. This includes $92 billion in direct medical expenditures and $40 billion attributable to disability and premature mortality. The U.S. spends one out of every four Medicare dollars on diabetes.
Thyroid Disease
More than 27 million Americans have overactive or underactive thyroid glands, but more than half remain undiagnosed.
More than 8 out of 10 patients with thyroid disease are women.
Women are 5 to 8 times more likely than men to suffer from hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
Fifteen to 20 percent of people with diabetes and their siblings or parents are likely to develop thyroid disease (compared to 4.5 percent of the general population).
Approximately 25 percent of women will develop permanent hypothyroidism.
Obesity
Approximately 30.3 percent of children (ages 6 to 11) are overweight and 15.3 percent are obese. For adolescents (ages 12 to 19), 30.4 percent are overweight and 15.5 percent are obese.
In the United States, the prevalence of childhood obesity has nearly tripled for adolescents in the past two decades. Teenagers in the U.S. have higher rates of obesity than those in 14 other industrialized countries.
Obesity now has an immediate impact on children's health. Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. In addition, risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, occur with increased frequency in overweight children and adolescents compared to children with a healthy weight.
Studies show that overweight adolescents have a much higher chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.
Obesity accounted for over 300,000 U.S. deaths in 2000, or about 16.6% of total deaths, and is quickly becoming the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
In all, about 65% of American adults are either obese or overweight, up from 47% in 1980.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis and low bone mass are currently estimated to be a major public health threat for almost 44 million U.S. women and men aged 50 and older.
By the year 2010, it is estimated that over 52 million women and men in this same age category will be affected and, if current trends continue, the figure will climb to over 61 million by 2020.
Men with osteoporosis and low bone mass totaled over 14 million in 2002. This figure is expected to increase to over 17 million in 2010 and to well over 20 million in 2020.
More than 80 percent of osteoporosis sufferers are women; osteoporosis affects half of all women over the age of 50 and almost 90 percent of those over the age of 75.
Five to 20% of people who fracture their hips die of complications
Osteoporosis results in 1.5 million fractures annually.
Osteoporotic fractures result in at least $15 billion in health care costs annually.
