Diabetes hits highest level ever in U.S.

A fatter, less active and older America has helped push diabetes to its highest levels yet in the United States.

As of 1997, about 10 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Nearly 6 million more have the disease and don't know it. The figures represent a sixfold increase from 1.6 million in 1958."We are becoming a more overweight population, we are less active and we are also getting somewhat older," said Dr. Frank Vinicor, director of the CDC's diabetes division. "If you put all of those factors together, we are seeing a chronic disease epidemic occurring."

It isn't just a U.S. problem. The CDC and the World Health Organization estimate that 125 million people worldwide have diabetes, a number expected to double by the year 2025.

"Diabetes is a common disease, a serious disease and it's a costly disease," said Linda Geiss, surveillance chief of the CDC's diabetes division.

Diabetes - a condition in which blood sugar levels rise out of control, causing nerve damage - is the fourth leading cause of death by disease in the United States. It also is a leading cause of kidney failure, non-traumatic amputations, heart disease, stroke and blindness.

The American Diabetes Association estimates the disease costs patients and health care providers $140 billion in medical expenses, disability and lost wages each year.

The CDC estimates 15.7 million people in the United States currently have diabetes. In its early stages, the symptoms are not very apparent. They can include excessive thirst, frequent urination and weight loss.

Diabetes is caused by a deficiency of insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and is secreted by the pancreas.

Between 1980 and 1994, diabetes rose 33 percent among blacks, from 40.1 diagnosed cases for every 1,000 people to 53.5 cases per 1,000. Among whites during the same years, the rate rose 11 percent, from 23.8 cases per 1,000 to 26.4.