The Diabetes Epidemic and Its Effect on Society

Diabetes has a major impact on people who live with the disease, their family members, and society as a whole. According to the National Institutes of Health, it costs many billions of dollars to provide care for those with type 2 diabetes. NIH reports that there were almost 37 million people with this type of diabetes in adults who were aged 20 through 79. Another 44 million had impaired glucose tolerance, and 108,600 children who were up to 14 years of age had type 1 diabetes in North America and in the Caribbean. Expenses for health care for these patients was estimated at 263.2 billion dollars for 2013. Public health and the economy of these countries was greatly threatened by diabetes.

Lost Productivity

The American Diabetes Association estimated that the United States' economy lost 58 billion dollars in 2007 as a result of lost workdays from diabetes-related health problems. The fact that diabetes is a continually growing problem makes its impact on society even more profound. This association estimates that there are approximately 5.7 million people who have diabetes who have not been diagnosed and another 57 million who have pre-diabetes.

Far-Reaching Effects

Diabetic symptoms can affect those with diabetes on a daily basis. They may feel very tired if their blood sugar levels are not regulated, and this often leads to missed days of work due to the fact that it can be difficult to get out of bed and start the day. Blood sugar often spikes at the end of the sleep cycle and can be high when you wake up. This makes getting off to work for the day very difficult. Also, unless your blood sugar is under control, you may have other problems like low blood sugar that can have dangerous consequences.

Those with diabetes need to take everything that they do into account because of their disease. They need to watch everything that they eat and many need to monitor their blood sugar levels throughout the day. It is possible to develop depression due to the stress of the disease and the worry of complications that have definite effects on a person, including amputation of feet, and others. The American Diabetes Association says that diabetics may require help with their responsibilities, even if they are not clinically depressed. Help is available from many different diabetes health care professionals.

Other Societal Impacts

The ways that diabetes affects society goes on and on. Not only is the person with diabetes affected, but so are the families of those with the disease. When a spouse or parent is not able to work, he or she may need to go on disability, causing the family to lose the income that it once had. Businesses are also affected when employees with diabetes need to take off of work, and other employees must work harder to make up for the loss of those workers. Since there is currently no cure for diabetes, the problem continues to expand as more and more people find that they have this dreaded disease.

Photo: Pexels

Get a Free Diabetes Meal Plan

Get a free 7-Day Diabetes Meal Plan from Constance Brown-Riggs who is a Registered Dietitian-Certified Diabetes Educator and who is also a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

Just enter in your email below to download your free Diabetes Meal Plan.

By clicking Submit, you agree to send your info to BattleDiabetes.com who, in addition to 3rd party partners, may contact you with updates, products and information and we agree to use it according to our privacy policy and terms and conditions.

More Articles

More Articles

For decades people with type-1 and advanced type-2 diabetes relied on painful and often flawed insulin injections to regulate blood sugar...

Scientists have discovered that a single gene forms a common link between type 2 diabetes and...

Natural supplements like cinnamon extract and apple cider vinegar could hold the key to lowering blood sugar levels, according to a recent...

Natural supplements like cinnamon extract and apple cider vinegar could hold the key to lowering blood sugar levels, according to a recent...

Could a person's risk for type 2 diabetes be written in their genes?

According to a study recently published in ...

Women who frequently shift around their sleeping hours could have worse metabolic health outcomes than their peers who stick with a...

The presence of the hormone leptin may hinder prenatal development, which could explain the origin of type 2 diabetes, according to...

An analysis of fossilized Native American feces shows that our ancestors ate up to sixteen times the fiber that we do today, but our...

Managing diabetes is hugely challenging for people of any age, but a new study suggests that young people may suffer all the more....

Disruptions to the gut’s ecosystem could be a future symptom facing young children who take antibiotics, which makes them more susceptible...

Breastfeeding a newborn holds many benefits for mommy and baby; it reduces the baby's risk for colds and viruses, it helps his bones (and yours)...

Fans of the Dexcom G5 Mobile have something to smile about.

At yesterday's hearing with the U.S. Food and Drug...

If you start your day with a cup of tea and end it with a glass of red wine, your blood sugar may thank you.

At least that...

As medical experts continue to debate whether or not "healthy obesity" can even exist, one new study suggests that risk for heart disease...

For years, type 1 diabetics have been anxiously waiting for that medical marvel that can stop the constant injections: the artificial...