Fifty years ago, the American Diabetes Association in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) designated November as National Diabetes Month. November was picked to honor the birthday of Dr. Frederick Banting who discovered insulin in 1921. However, diabetes is a global problem and does not just affect Americans. In 1991, WHO established World Diabetes Day. It set aside November 14 to mark the day and bring awareness to the disease.
Diabetes is a serious problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 38 million Americans have the condition. That is about 11% of the population. The CDC cited an even more troubling statistic; nearly 100 million Americans are pre-diabetic.
MCM spoke with Dr. Fabian Sandoval who is President and Chief Executive Officer of Emerson Clinical Research Institute in Washington, D.C. about why diabetes is so troublesome, and what steps people can take to prevent the disease from taking hold:
While a blood test can definitively diagnose a person with either pre-diabetes or diabetes, a person may start to feel symptoms ahead of time. Those can include feeling thirsty all the time, frequent urination, and unexplained weight loss. People also could experience vision problems, and tingling or numbness in their hands or feet.
