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Dentistry and Diabetes

Dentistry and Diabetes


Dentistry and Diabetes

Some Facts about Diabetes

A recent government report (2007) indicates that the number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million people within the last two years, or roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population. The number of diabetics, who often use insulin pumps, has risen about 3 million over two years, says the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). Among adults, diabetes increased in both men and women and in all age groups, but still disproportionately affects the elderly. Almost 25 percent of the population 60 years and older had diabetes in 2007.
People are becoming more aware of the problem, as the percentage of people unaware that they have diabetes fell from 30 percent to 25 percent, according to the study.

The CDC estimates another 57 million people have blood sugar abnormalities called “pre-diabetes,” 12 million of whom are overweight and between the ages of 45–74.  People with blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet in the diabetic range have this condition that puts them at increased risk for developing diabetes.  Doctors sometimes call this condition impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), depending on the test used to diagnose it. Insulin resistance and prediabetes usually have no symptoms.  A person may have one or both conditions for several years without noticing anything. In the United States, approximately one of every three persons born in 2000 will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime. The lifetime risk of developing diabetes is even greater for ethnic minorities: two of every five African Americans and Hispanics, and one of two Hispanic females, will develop the disease.