Last weekend, 11,000 people participated in a Seattle race to fight juvenile diabetes.
Diabetes is a statewide health problem, for kids and adults alike, affecting more and more people.
Some numbers and facts about the size of the problem:
•An estimated 453,455 adults (8.5%) in Washington state have diabetes.
•Diabetes, heart disease, and stroke are leading causes of death, and cause a third of all deaths annually.
-67,000 hospitalizations per year
-4,000 deaths
-$1 billion in hospital bills alone
•Many adults in Washington state are at risk for developing diabetes/cardiovascular disease: ◦1.75 million (35%) have prediabetes
-1.5 million (30%) have hypertension
-2.4 million (46%) don’t get enough physical activity
-4.6 million (90%) don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables
-1.3 million (27%) are considered obese.
Taxpayers pay an estimated 63 percent of the costs via Medicare, Medicaid or for members of the military. People with diabetes who don’t have health coverage wind up in hospital emergency rooms 55 percent more than people with insurance. A single trip to the ER is so expensive that it typically would pay for health coverage for a person for one year.
The good news is that diabetes is largely preventable, and that state agencies are working with county public health districts and other partners to find solutions.
Rep. Laurie Jinkins introduced legislation this year – House Bill 1795– to do a better job of fighting diabetes statewide. It passed the House 87 to 11, but did not make it to the Senate floor.