Saturday, December 26, 2009

nyc's sugar-betes

Hope everyone's having a happy holiday weekend!

Two diabetes-related pieces of news have surfaced recently. One: unfortunately, diabetes is on the rise in NYC. According to a November 2009 report from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, diabetes is up 13% from 2002. It is more prevalent in men than women, and in those without a high school degree than those with a diploma. Interestingly, the death rate from diabetes has not moved since 2002 (it was then and is now 18 deaths per 100,000 New Yorkers) but it is likely to be underreported. As most reports on diabetes have noted, the illness disproportionately affects African Americans, Hispanics, and those from low income neighborhoods.

The other interesting item is that NYC's Health and Hospitals Corporation (the largest public health care provider in the country) has recently launched an online program to help the 58,000 diabetics under its care. The site features advice on how to control diabetes by eating healthfully and exercising. The site also features some patient success stories to motivate readers.

No comments:

Post a Comment