(NAPSA)—There’s good news for people with diabetes. Research indicates that the majority of those with the condition are doing a better job of managingit. Just over 20 million Americans have diabetes. Most have type 2, or adult-onset diabetes, in which the body loses its ability to use insulin properly. If not managed properly, type 2 diabetes can lead to the loss of limbs and eyesight, blindness and heart disease. It’s estimated that diseases linked to type 2 diabetes, particularly those that involve obesity and lack of exercise, tax the U.S. health system to the tune of $22.9 billion a year in direct medicalcosts. Key to managing the condition properly is testing. The good Ask Your Doctor Your physician can help you diagnose diabetes using widely available laboratory tests. Symptomsof diabetesinclude: Frequent urination Excessive thirst Extreme hunger Increased fatigue Irritability Blurry vision If you experience one or moreof these symptoms, contact your doctor. of Southern California and past president of the American Dia- betes Association, “Diabetes can be Health Trends™ Report by the lab testing company Quest Diagnostics, is that more people with the condition are controlling the disease better. The study—based on 22.7 million lab tests performed by Quest Diagnostics— reveals that between 2001 and 2006, diabetes control improved by 44 percent. The key test reveals the status of a person’s blood sugar levels over a period of several weeks. Thetest is called hemoglobin Alc. The target for those with diabetes is a blood sugar level of less than 7 percent of hemoglobin—the main protein in red blood cells. Experts believe that every reduction of a percentage point of glucose in hemoglobin represents a 40 percent reduction in a patient’s risk of eye, kidney or nerverelated complications. a life-taking, life-altering disease if you don’t manageit.” Said Kaufman, who analyzed the data, “Control has gotten better and impressively so.” However, she added that there was still more to do in termsof controlling the disease given that the data suggests that the rate of improvement has slowed. The results were presented at the American Diabetes Association’s annual scientific meeting in Chicago. The study also found that people with diabetes have a worse time controlling the condition in the winter—possibly as a result of holiday feasting—and that men struggle with it more than women. Said Kaufman, “People with diabetes will have to get out and get walking, lose that five to 10 pounds. Just taking a pill and not doing anythingelse isn’t enough.” man, a professor at the University www.questdiagnostics.com. news, according to a recent According to Dr. Francine Kauf- For more information, go to
