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By the time these people are diagnosed, the illness may have already begun silently creeping down its path of destruction. Diabetes has a way of sneaking up upon people gradually, often with very few outward symptoms-or sometimes none at all. But even in its early, undiagnosed stages, it can cause serious harm: nerve damage, kidney and eye diseases, and even heart disease may begin to develop unnoticed. So gradual are these changes that nearly 6 million people living in the United States have no idea that they are among the 17 million Americans believed to have diabetes. Every day, 2,700 more people learn the news. There are at least 16 million more whose blood-glucose levels have climbed above normal but have not yet reached a level high enough for a diabetes diagnosis. These people have pre-diabetes, which will most likely develop into diabetes within the next 10 years of their lives. It, too, can cause serious harm to the body, long before a doctor detects it. Diabetes is a chronic disease that has no cure, but can be controlled. It contributes to the deaths of more than 200,000 Americans each year. It is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke, as well as the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney failure and non-traumatic amputations. There are two major types of diabetes. Type 1, which occurs most often in children and young adults, is an autoimmune disease in which the body does not produce any insulin, a hormone needed to convert food into the energy we need to live. Five to 10 percent of diabetes cases are of this type. Type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to make enough or properly use insulin, accounts for 90 percent or more of all diabetes cases. It is most often associated with obesity and was once referred to as adult-onset diabetes, since it frequently strikes in adulthood. However, the recent surge in childhood obesity has brought with it a disturbing rise in type 2 diabetes among our nation's youth. What makes this increase even more alarming is that children who develop type 2 diabetes appear to develop serious complications much earlier in their lives than people who are diagnosed as adults. A study presented at the American Diabetes Association's 62d Annual Scientific Sessions in June documented a disproportionate number of kidney failures, miscarriages and diabetes-related deaths among one of the first generations of children with type 2 to reach their 20s. This news comes on the heels of predictions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes will soar by 165 percent in the United States by the year 2050. The increase in obesity among children and adults, a growing number of older Americans and a trend toward more sedentary lifestyles have already combined to push type 2 diabetes to epidemic proportions. But the CDC's predictions needn't come true. Recent studies tell us that diabetes can be prevented if we are willing to make and sustain moderate lifestyle changes, including maintaining a healthy weight or losing a modest amount of weight, and being physically active for at least 30 minutes each day. For those who already have diabetes, these changes can help ward off the serious health complications associated with the disease. They are changes worth making. They are changes that could save your life. Diabetes: The Silent Killer Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes Type 1 Type 2
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By the end of this year, an additional 1 million Americans over the age of 20 will get some alarming news: diabetes, the nation's fifth deadliest disease, has struck. 