Diabetes: what Americans don't know can kill them.

Abstract

3 D IABETES affects more than 16 million Americans, with approximately 800,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Diabetes spares no one, attacking men, women, children, and the elderly. It is one of our nation’s most costly diseases in both human and economic terms. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, amputations, and blindness in adults. It is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and shortens average life expectancy by up to 15 years. Moreover, diabetes costs the nation more than $105 billion per year in health-related expenditures. More than 1 of every 10 health care dollars and about 1 of 4 Medicare dollars are spent on people with diabetes. On reviewing these statistics, I wondered what Congress could do to put us on the road to overcoming them. The answer was: plenty. I began by organizing the Senate Diabetes Caucus. As cochair, along with my colleague Senator John Breaux (D-LA), I have gathered a bipartisan group of 17 senators who are committed to working together to advocate for people with diabetes. The Senate Diabetes Caucus is working to increase funding for diabetes research. The Diabetes Research Working Group (DRWG), a panel of diabetes experts, has put forward a comprehensive plan for diabetes research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The DRWG has recommended an $827 million budget in fiscal year 2000 for diabetes research at the NIH. We believe this is a small investment when compared with the more than $40 billion federal taxpayers spend each year on diabetes care. In October, I introduced an amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill that calls for increased support for diabetes research, education, early detection, and treatment. My amendment, which passed unanimously, does not earmark a particular funding level for diabetes research; rather, it is intended to heighten awareness of the devastating impact that diabetes and its resulting complications have in both human and economic terms. It is also intended to affirm that diabetes research is a high priority and to express the clear intent of the Senate that the federal government should substantially increase its investment in the fight against diabetes. Later that month, I chaired a hearing of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that examined whether sufficient funding is being provided to enable the NIH to implement the programs presented in the DRWG’s research. While we continue to search for a cure, there is treatment. In recent years, insulin pumps have proven to be more effective in controlling blood glucose levels than conventional injection therapy for some insulin-dependent diabetics. External insulin pumps are widely accepted by health professionals involved in treating patients with diabetes, and for many patients, the pump is the only way that optimal blood glucose control can be achieved safely.