Diabetes

Importance and Measures

Mortality
Number of deaths (2003)......................................................................................................	73,9652
Cause of death rank (2003)...................................................................................................	6th2
Prevalence
Total number of Americans with diabetes (2002)..................................................................	18,200,0007
Incidence
New cases (age 20 and over, 2002).....................................................................................	1,300,0007
Cost
Total cost (2002)..............................................................................................................	$132 billion7
Direct medical costs (2002)...............................................................................................	$92 billion7

Measures

Effective management of diabetes includes appropriate receipt of hemoglobin A1c tests, eye exams, and foot exams, as well as measures of associated outcomes (such as control of cholesterol, blood pressure, and HbA1c^iv levels). The two core report measures highlighted in this section are:

• Receipt of three recommended diabetic services
• Controlled hemoglobin, cholesterol, and blood pressure

In addition, a supplemental measure is also presented:

• State variation in hemoglobin A1c testing

^iv HbA1c is glycosylated hemoglobin—the higher the level of glucose in the blood, the higher the HbA1c level.

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