The number of diabetes patients in California, the most populous state in the United States, increased by 7 percent in 2005, with Los Angeles County having the largest cases, statistics released Wednesday showed.
A report by the Center for Health Policy Research at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) said 1.8 million Californians had diabetes in 2005, up from 1.5 million -- or 6.2 percent of the state's population -- in 2001.
Diabetes significantly increased from 2001 to 2005 across all racial and ethnic boundaries, except for blacks, who still have the highest overall prevalence rates, said the report.
Diabetes rates are also highest among those with low income and minimal education, according to the report.
"These findings show that diabetes, with its many serious complications, is rapidly becoming a major public health concern in California," said Dr. Allison L. Diamant, lead author of the study and associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
"To make matters worse, we are seeing some of the most dramatic increases in prevalence among those least able to manage the disease properly, such as the poor and those with inadequate access to care."
The UCLA report is based on the 2001 and 2005 editions of the California Health Interview Survey, while comparing diabetes prevalence in counties across the state.
According to the report, Los Angeles County is home to 520,000 adults who have been diagnosed with diabetes, more than any other county in the state. The high number was attributed to the county's moderately high prevalence rates and the size of its overall population.
Researchers found that many Californian adults with diabetes are receiving the care recommended by health professionals, but hundreds of thousands do not receive any care and risk complications like vascular disease, which may cause amputation, blindness, heart attack or stroke.
"The diabetes epidemic will have a crippling effect on the state if it continues to go unchecked," said Dr. Robert K. Ross, president and CEO of the California Endowment, which provided funding for the research.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article