Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause health problems, such as heart disease, nerve damage, eye problems, and kidney disease. You can take steps to prevent diabetes or manage it.
Talk to your health care team about getting tested, particularly if you are over 45, overweight, or have a family member with diabetes. Ask your doctor about the small steps you can take to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and live a long and healthy life.
Did You Know?
- Diabetes affects about 30.3 million Americans or about 9.4 percent of the U.S. population.
- Nearly 1 in 4 adults living with diabetes, or 7.2 million Americans, are unaware that they have the disease.
- Another 84 million Americans have prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
- Nine out of 10 adults with prediabetes don’t know they have it.
