The Best and Worst States for Diabetes

Today, diabetes is becoming an epidemic. The sum of U.S. citizens with diabetes has grown by 2.2 million people, and at this rate is increasing as more people become obese. High blood glucose levels or hyperglycemia is the major characteristic of diabetes. High levels are developed because the body has an inability to produce enough or any insulin to control high glucose levels.

Diabetes comes in two different types: type 1, which often affects children or adolescents (but can be diagnosed at a later age) and type 2 that comprises about 90 percent of all diabetes cases.

Diabetes is more than just hyperglycemia or low blood sugar. It is the major cause of diabetic retinopathy or blindness, non-traumatic lower extremity amputations, and end-stage kidney diseases. Those with diabetes are almost four times at risk of strokes and cardiovascular diseases. Statistics estimate that more than 200,000 deaths are caused by diabetes every year. A scarier statistic? Approximately 8.1 million people are unaware that they have diabetes and they are at risk of diabetic complications.

These states have different diabetic statistics

The CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (REFSS) Prevalence Data for 2011 to today shows a disparity in diabetic statistics across the United States and its territories.  Puerto Rico leads the list with 16.5% of the population having the disease. Alabama and West Virginia have the highest population rates of those with diabetes. Over 16 percent of people in these states are diagnosed with diabetes.

High diabetes rates equal higher health problems. Diabetes diagnoses are linked to high blood pressure, increased risks of heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease. Over 76,000 deaths in 2014 were attributed directly to diabetes, and the situation is just getting worse. The ADA states that 1.4 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed every year.

To discover the incidence rates of diabetes, researchers polled 176,385 telephone interviews with adults across all 50 states. For community data, researchers questioned 246,620 people.

Some states seem to do a better job at controlling diabetes and a report by Gallup and Healthways ranks states and communities on their incidences of diabetes. Rhode Island, Colorado, and Utah have the lowest incidences of diabetes. In 2015, less than 8 percent of the population in these states had diabetes.

Communities within those states include Boulder, Colorado, Fort Collins, Colorado and Provo-Orem Utah. Boulder had only 5 percent of its citizens diagnosed with diabetes. A closer look at Mobile, Alabama and Charleston, West Virginia reported over 17 percent of their citizens had diabetes.

Read on to learn more about the population rates of diabetes in these states and what communities should do about it.