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U.S. Food and
Drug Administration
FDA Consumer magazine
May-June 2002
Table of Contents
Citing the results of a recent poll released by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson recently reiterated his agency's commitment to help those affected by the disease and to minimize their risks for heart disease and stroke.
"This ADA survey reinforces the need to help people with diabetes understand their increased risk for heart disease and stroke and what they can do to reduce those risks," Thompson said. "Not only controlling blood sugar, but also controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, is important to prevent heart disease and stroke in those who have diabetes."
The survey, released Feb. 19 by ADA President Christopher D. Saudek, M.D., polled more than 2,000 people diagnosed with diabetes. Even though heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death among people with diabetes, the poll found that 2 out of 3 people with diabetes didn't consider cardiovascular disease to be a significant risk.
Most of the respondents knew more about disabilities, such as blindness and amputation, than they did about the often-fatal cardiovascular complications associated with the disease. In addition, many of those surveyed knew little about steps that they can take to reduce their cardiovascular risks, such as aspirin therapy, prescription medications, lowering high cholesterol levels, and stopping smoking.
"It is very alarming to learn that 68 percent of people with diabetes are unaware of the link between diabetes and heart disease and stroke," Saudek says. "Consequently, they are unlikely to be doing what they need to save their lives."
Diabetes affects about 16 million Americans and costs the United States about $100 billion each year. It is the leading cause of kidney failure and new onset blindness in adults and a major cause of heart disease, limb amputation and stroke.
"People with diabetes know how important it is to control their blood glucose, but too little attention is paid to the role of cholesterol and blood pressure," says Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). "Research shows that this approach, aggressively treating these three risk factors, can save lives."
Another arm of HHS, the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Women's Health, has partnered with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and 80 other organizations to launch a new campaign in May. The campaign will focus on early identification and control of diabetes in women. It is estimated that 8.1 million women in the United States have diabetes and one-third of them don't know it.
Through this campaign, diabetes-related information will be distributed at grocery stores and pharmacies in 11 cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
In August 2001, HHS released results from the Diabetes Prevention Program, a major clinical trial involving more than 3,000 people. The study indicates that millions of overweight Americans are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and they can delay and possibly prevent the disease with diet and exercise. Those results suggest that prevention efforts can greatly reduce the impact of diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for up to 95 percent of all diabetes cases, is strongly associated with obesity, physical inactivity, a family history of diabetes, and certain racial or ethnic backgrounds. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has tripled in the last 30 years, and much of the increase is due to the dramatic upsurge in obesity.
As part of the "ABCs of Diabetes" campaign, the National Diabetes Education Program and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) are offering a free brochure for people with diabetes. The brochure contains essential information about managing health and a wallet card to help keep track of ABC numbers. The A stands for A1C test, which measures average blood glucose (sugar) over the previous three months. The B stands for blood pressure and the C stands for cholesterol. Call HHS at 1-800-438-5383, visit www.ndep.nih.gov, or contact the ADA at 1-800-342-2383.
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