Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States and around the world, making it one of the most burdensome chronic diseases of our time.

Do you want evidence about the severity of the problem? Just look at the statistics.

According to the American Diabetes Association:

• Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States. Since 1987, the death rate due to diabetes has increased 45 percent, while death rates due to heart disease, stroke and cancer have declined.

• There are 789,000 new cases of diabetes diagnosed every year.

• Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke and amputations.

• Sixty percent to 70 percent of those who have diabetes will develop nerve damage, and 15 percent will develop foot ulcers — some leading to amputations.

• Diabetics miss seven times more work than those without the disease.

• Approximately 422,000 Georgians have been diagnosed with diabetes, and another 211,000 don't know that they have the disease.

"According to a report aired on CNN in 2003, one in three people born in 2000 will likely develop diabetes in his or her lifetime," said Ruth Ann Schultz, RN, CDE, WellStar Health System outpatient diabetes educator. "That's a stunning statistic, especially when you consider that diabetes care accounts for about 10 percent of Medicare costs now."

Rising diabetes rates, higher incidences of Type 2 diabetes in children, a growing number of under- and uninsured diabetics going undiagnosed and untreated, and escalating costs related to the disease paint an alarming picture of the diabetes epidemic.

Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes, but now more children are being diagnosed with it, which means that they will be at risk for stroke, heart attacks and kidney disease early in their lives.

"Our country presently spends about $132 billion in treating diabetes patients and complications. We are greatly concerned about the impact on the health system of the next generation," said Kathy Marshall, RN, CDE, coordinator of diabetes education at Southern Regional Health System in Riverdale.

Not all of the statistics are negative, however. Ninety-five percent of diabetics have Type 2 diabetes, which can be controlled with diet and exercise alone, if patients receive interventional education and take control of the disease.

Certified diabetes educators provide that intervention through classes, counseling, screenings, lectures and support groups.

The support groups sponsored by WellStar Health System's award-winning TARGET: Diabetes Program empower people with medical information and practical advice, such as how to make healthy food choices from restaurant menus. The role of education is critical in the fight against diabetes, as you will learn in this month's cover story.

"It's challenging work, but we have such a great opportunity to make a difference," said Cris Hartley, RD, CDE, manager of the Diabetes and Nutrition Education Center at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville. "People have to change [their lifestyles] in order to manage their disease."

Hartley's role is to inspire and motivate patients to make those changes. She knows that changing habits is hard, but that it results in healthier, happier lives for diabetics.

"So many people are walking around with blurry vision and other ill effects from high blood-sugar levels," she said. "They just don't know how good they can feel."

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