New Data, Same Story

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released new data on the prevalence of diabetes.  Diabetes is on the rise.  Nearly 24 million people in the US have diabetes, up 3 million from 2 years ago.  The estimates, based on 2007 data, also show that 57 million people have pre-diabetes, a condition that puts people at increased risk for diabetes.  The St. Louis Diabetes Coalition summarized the scope of the pre-diabetes problem in St. Louis on one slide (download here).  The CDC report also showed that to 25 percent of people with diabetes do not know they have it, the CDC said — down from 30 percent two years ago.  Good news: outreach and screening seems to be working.  Bad news: obesity, poor diet, and lack of physical activity are driving up the number of new cases…. quite rapidly.

Good Morning, Business Leaders

Thank you to the more than 50 folks who attended the breakfast meeting co-hosted by the American Diabetes Association, St. Louis Diabetes Coalition and St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition.  The panelists provided keen insights on the business community’s interests and experiences with diabetes prevention and management.  Bill Shaner, President / CEO of Sav-A-Lot, shared new market research that revealed more than 20% of their customers have diabetes.  David M. Hoffman, President of National City Insurance Group, talked about his company’s experience with the ADA Winning at Work program. The Diabetes Coalition’s own Eric S. Armbrecht, PhD provided a comments on economics, benefit design, and the importance of diabetes self-managmement in light of the inconsistent and inadequate care so many people with diabetes receive.  ADA staffer Jay Kridel and Executive Director Ed Clay did an excellent job organizing the event.  Kudos to an effective partnership!