Diabetes Incidence Going Up

The CDC just released more data on the incidence of diabetes by state. The rates have almost doubled over the last 10 years and now stand at about 9 new cases per 1,000 persons (age adjusted). That means 1.3 million new diabetic patients every year!

Minnesota has the lowest rate of new cases at 5/1000; Puerto Rico topped the list at 12.8.


We're going to need much better systems of chronic care management to handle the influx of millions of new patients. Or else, we can expect millions of premature heart attacks, strokes, kidney failures, amputations, and deaths. The costs will be overwhelming unless we get these patients insured, deploy smart management techniques, and pay very close attention to them over the years.