World Diabetes Day: Shedding Light on the Crisis Here at Home

That article, written by Tara Parker-Pope in June of 2008, talks about how the American public generally “disrespects” diabetes as a serious health threat: “The general consensus seems to be, ‘There’s medication,’ ‘Look how good people look with diabetes’ or ‘I’ve never heard of anybody dying of diabetes.’ ”

In fact, over 200,000 people die of diabetes in the US alone every year. Those involved know full well that diabetes “wreaks havoc on the entire body,” affecting everything from hearing and vision to sexual function, mental health and sleep – not to mention causing blindness, amputations and kidney failure, and tripling the risk for heart attack and stroke.

“The disconnect between perception and reality is particularly worrisome at a time when national diabetes rates are surging,” Parker-Pope writes. Amen!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now report that the number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million, or 8 percent of the population. Almost 25 percent of those aged 60 and older had diabetes in 2007. And the CDC estimates that another 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes. Wow!

So what exactly are we doing about it? Nothing... which scares the heck out of me. Amidst the current rancorous national debate about reforming our healthcare system, diabetes care remains pathetically sub-par.

Consider:

• There are only about 15,000 Certified Diabetes Educators in the whole country, yet nearly 24 million Americans are already affected by diabetes, and the number is growing every day. Who will help all these patients manage their disease?

• While diabetes education is required by law in at least 45 states, some plans cover as little as two hours of counseling for the lifetime of the patient. This lack of coverage, which makes it nearly impossible for diabetes centers to operate at a profit, has forced a number of otherwise-successful programs to shut down all over the country.

• In the book "Cheating Destiny," author James Hirsch interviews Florene Linnen, an activist from the rural community of Georgetown County, South Carolina, where about half of the black community is believed to have diabetes. In some families three generations at once are undergoing laser treatments, dialysis, organ transplants, and amputation. There is no formal diabetes education program.

• When I interviewed Florene myself, she told me that people in her community literally "have to choose between filling expensive prescriptions or buying groceries or shoes for their kids." When they don't take their meds, doctors label them "noncompliant" and essentially give up on them. Clearly these people need not only diabetes education, but care that suits their economic situation.

• In his new book, "Diabetes Rising," author Dan Hurley likewise profiles Logan County, West Virginia ― the county with the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes in the country. Almost 15% of all adults over 20 have diabetes, yet there is NOT ONE endocrinologist in the entire county, let alone a single diabetes educator.

When we think of spreading awareness on World Diabetes Day, I suggest we think beyond just raising money for cure research – important, of course, but ironically not nearly as neglected as lobbying for better prevention, education and care for existing patients. In this entire national dialogue about healthcare reform, there’s simply not enough patient representation! Patients’ real lives and struggles with their illness is such an important place to shed some light.

Amy Tenderich is host of the popular web log www.diabetesmine.com.