Diabetes Alert Day good time to check risk


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, March 15, 2010
CONTACT: Linda Ahrendt, (605) 773-3737
Diabetes Alert Day good time to check risk
PIERRE, S.D. – Do you know your risk of developing diabetes? March 23 is the 22nd annual Diabetes Alert Day and a good time to find out, says a state health official.
“More than 40,000 South Dakotans have diabetes and 13,000 more have it but haven't been diagnosed,” said Colette Hesla, Diabetes Prevention and Control Coordinator for the Department of Health. “And 149,000 more have pre-diabetes, when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes.”
Hesla encouraged South Dakotans to mark Diabetes Alert Day by completing a quick assessment of their risk by going to the American Diabetes Association web site at http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/ and clicking on the diabetes risk test link. The assessment helps identify a person’s risk factors for diabetes and encourages follow up with a doctor.
The following risk factors increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes:
  • Age;
  • Being overweight – defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25; 
  • Being physically inactive;
  • Having a parent or sibling with diabetes;
  • Being American Indian, African American, Asian American, Hispanic, or Pacific Islander;
  • Developing diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) or having a baby weighing 9 pounds or more;
  • Having high blood pressure;  
  • Having high lipid (blood fats) levels – HDL or good cholesterol levels under 35 mg and/or a triglyceride level over 250 mg.
Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in South Dakota in 2008. It can also lead to severe complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, lower extremity amputations and kidney failure. To learn more about preventing and controlling diabetes, see the department’s Diabetes Prevention and Control site at http://diabetes.sd.us.
Improving the health behaviors of South Dakotans to reduce chronic diseases such as diabetes is a key objective of the department’s Health 2020 Initiative.