The month of November is American Diabetes Month. Like most national health observances, this month is meant to promote awareness of and increase support for reducing the burden associated with this chronic condition. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released the 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report which is a periodic publication that provides estimates of diabetes and prediabetes, information on risk factors and associated complications, and describes the burden of diabetes in the U.S. This observance and report are timely considering that this is the time of year when many of us in Extension begin planning next year’s programmatic efforts. Having seen the impact of comorbidities like diabetes during this global pandemic, it seems especially important that we use this month to examine the current state of diabetes in America, establish a plan for helping those most at risk, and explore the many resources available to assist us in educating and supporting families and consumers.

Examine the Current State of Diabetes

America has the highest prevalence of diabetes of all developed countries around the world. In 2018, 34.2 million Americans had diabetes and another 88 million had prediabetes. In 2017, diabetes and related complications led to the loss of 354,266 American lives and to $327 billion in direct and indirect medical costs.

Establish a Plan to Help High-risk Groups

New incidences of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are rising significantly among youth. Non-Hispanic black adults and adults of Hispanic origin continue to have a higher incidence of newly diagnosed diabetes compared to Non-Hispanic white adults. The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes is highest among racial/ethnic minorities.

Explore Diabetes Resources

Extension professionals have access to many diabetes prevention and management resources such as Prevent T2, which is available through the CDC, and a variety of Diabetes Self-Management Programs that are available through state Extension systems.

Additional Information

The National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2020 can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/p...tatistics-report.pdf.

Information about the National Diabetes Prevention Program is available here:  https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/index.html

If you are aware of Diabetes Self-Management Programs in your states that you would like to share, please provide information in the comments.