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Winning at Work - Diabetes Facts

Diabetes is a disease with a staggering human and economic toll. Almost 21 million Americans have diabetes including 6.2 million who are currently undiagnosed. Your workplace will be increasingly affected by diabetes and other chronic diseases. Strategies for preventing and managing diabetes can also reduce the risk for, or help manage, other chronic conditions including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol.

Therefore, it is in a company's best interest to join the ADA in our mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. In doing so, your company can achieve higher productivity and reduce health care costs.

What Diabetes Costs Your Workplace

New cost of diabetes data recently released demonstrates that diabetes continues to be a staggering economic cost for companies and the health care system. One in every five health care dollars is spent caring for someone with diabetes, while one in ten health care dollars is attributed to diabetes. In 2007 the total annual economic cost of diabetes in medical expenditures and lost productivity was estimated to be $174 billion, an increase of 32 percent since 2002. The 2007 per capita annual costs of health care for people with diabetes is $11,744 a year, of which $6,649 (57%) is attributed to diabetes.

Medical Expenditures Attributed to Diabetes 

  • $116 Billion including $27 billion for care to directly treat diabetes, $58 billion to treat diabetes-related complications and $31 billion in excess general medical costs.
  • People with diagnosed diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures that are approximately 2.3 times higher than those without diabetes.

Indirect Costs of Diabetes in 2007

  • Estimated to total $58 billion.
  • Diabetes accounts for 15 million work days absent, 120 million work days with reduced performance, 6 million reduced productivity days for those not in the workplace, and an additional 107 million work days lost due to unemployment disability attributed to diabetes.

Types of Diabetes

There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 which usually occurs during childhood or adolescence and type 2, the most common form of the disease which usually occurs after age 45, but is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents.

  • Type 1 (formerly known as juvenile diabetes) results from the body's failure to produce insulin - the hormone that "unlocks" the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to stay alive. 
    • There are an estimated 1 million people with type 1 diabetes in the United States today.
    • Type 1 diabetes is more common than any other severe chronic diseases of childhood.


  • Type 2 (formerly known as adult onset diabetes) results from insulin resistance (a condition in which the body fails to make enough or to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency. Often type 2 diabetes can be controlled through losing weight, improved nutrition and exercise alone, but many people may need oral medications and/or insulin to control their diabetes.
    • Of the 20.8 million Americans with diabetes, 90-95% (approximately 19.0 million) has type 2 diabetes. Approximately one-third are unaware they have diabetes.
    • The risk for type 2 diabetes increases with age. It is estimated that 20.9% of the United States population aged 60 and older has diabetes.
    • Rates of type 2 diabetes are higher in certain racial and ethnic groups including African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Asian & Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans.

  • Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. An estimated 54 million Americans have pre-diabetes, in addition to the 20.8 million with diabetes. Lifestyle changes including cutting back on calories and fat, being physically active and losing weight can return high blood glucose levels to the normal range and therefore prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. In the Diabetes Prevention Program study, people at high for type 2 diabetes greatly reduced their risk of developing diabetes by being physically active about 30 minutes a day, five days a week and losing an average of 10-15 pounds (5-7 percent of body weight).

 Preventing Diabetes Complications

The occurrence of many diabetes complications can be reduced by controlling blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids, and by receiving timely preventive care.

  • Glucose Control. In general, every percentage point drop in AIC blood glucose reduces the risk of microvascular complications (eye, kidney and nerve diseases) by 40%.
  • Blood Pressure Control. Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (heart disease or stroke) by 33% to 50% and the risk of microvascular complications by approximately 33%.
  • Control of Blood Lipids. Improved control of cholesterol or blood lipids (e.g., HDL, LDL and triglycerides) can reduce cardiovascular complications by 20% to 50%.
  • Preventive Care Practices for Eyes, Feet and Kidneys. 
    • Detecting and treating diabetes eye disease with laser therapy can reduce the development of severe vision loss by an estimated 50% to 60%.
    • Comprehensive foot care programs can reduce amputation rates by 45% to 85%.
    • Detecting and treating early diabetic kidney disease by lowering blood pressure can reduce kidney function decline by 30% to 70%.

Get Fit. Fight Diabetes.