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	Diabetes (Type II) Quick Facts Transcript Panelists Ask Your Doctor Key Point 1 Key Point 2 Key Point 3 Resources Medical Glossary	Diabetes is a serious, costly, and increasingly common chronic disease that can cause devastating complications that often result in disability and death. A fasting blood sugar over 126 mg/dL or a random blood sugar over 200 mg/dL is diagnostic of diabetes, according to the official American Diabetes Association definition. More than 20 million Americans have diabetes today.  Every year, one million new cases are diagnosed.  Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90–95% of all cases.  Six to seven percent of persons age 45 to 64 years and 10 to 12 percent of those age 65 years and older have diabetes. More and more children are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, something unheard of a decade ago. People with diabetes have rates of coronary artery disease and stroke that are 2 to 5 times that of non-diabetics Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults ages 20 to 74. More than half the amputations of the feet and legs in the U.S. are due to diabetes. Diabetes kills more people each year than AIDS and breast cancer combined. Detecting and treating early diabetic kidney disease by lowering blood pressure can reduce the decline in kidney function by 30% to 70%. For every 1% reduction in results of A1c blood tests, the risk of developing microvascular diabetic complications (eye, kidney, and nerve disease) is reduced by 40%. Detecting and treating diabetic eye disease can reduce the development of severe vision loss by an estimated 50% to 60%. Comprehensive foot care programs can reduce amputation rates by 45% to 85%.

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