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• Insulin is a hormone that converts food into the energy we need for daily life.
• When our body does not produce or use insulin properly, the result is diabetes.
• The genes we inherit and the way we live -- especially poor eating habits and lack of exercise -- contribute to the cause of diabetes.

Did you know that:

• An estimated 23.6 million adults and children in the USA -- 8% of the population -- have diabetes.
• 17.9 million have been diagnosed, which means that…
  • 5.7 million people don’t know they have diabetes
  • 11.2% of all men aged 20 or older have diabetes,
  • 1/3 do not know it
  • 10.2% of all women aged 20 or older have diabetes, 1/4 do not know it

Diabetes can lead to severe illness and death:

• Heart disease and stroke account for 65% of deaths in people with diabetes
  • 73% of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure
• Between 12,000 and 24,000 new cases of blindness are caused by diabetes each year
• Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney failure and accounts for 44% of all new cases
  • In 2005, over 46,000 people with diabetes began treatment for endstage renal disease
• More than 60% of non-accidental foot and leg amputations occur in people with diabetes
  • In 2004, about 71,000 amputations were performed because of diabetes
• Diabetes can lead to sexual dysfunction, complications during pregnancy, difficulty in walking and climbing stairs

Who is at greatest risk for Type 1 diabetes?

• Young people who have relatives with Type 1 diabetes

Who is at greatest risk for Type 2 diabetes?

People with impaired glucose tolerance and/or impaired fasting glucose

• People over 45
• People with a family history of diabetes
• People who are overweight
• People who do not exercise regularly
• People with high blood lipid (fat) levels
• People with high blood pressure
• Women who had diabetes during pregnancy

What does diabetes cost?

• $174 billion was spent on diabetes in 2007
  • $116 billion in medical costs:
    • Diabetes care ($27 billion)
    • Chronic diabetes related complications ($58 billion)
    • Excess general medical cost ($31 billion)
• 32% increase($42 billion) since 2002

• Fraternal Order of Eagles Plans Rally Against Diabetes; Celebrities Join Fight
• Fraternal Order of Eagles advances UI diabetes partnership
• UI team reveals molecular mechanism underlying a form of diabetes
• Fraternal Order of Eagles 'racing' to support Diabetes Research Center at UI
• The Fraternal Order of Eagles pledges to raise $25 million for University of Iowa diabetes research