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Diabetes
Importance and Measures
| Mortality |
| Number of deaths (2003)...................................................................................................... |
73,9652 |
| Cause of death rank (2003)................................................................................................... |
6th2 |
| |
|
| Prevalence |
| Total number of Americans with diabetes (2002).................................................................. |
18,200,0007 |
| |
|
| Incidence |
| New cases (age 20 and over, 2002)..................................................................................... |
1,300,0007 |
| |
|
| Cost |
| Total cost (2002).............................................................................................................. |
$132 billion7 |
| Direct medical costs (2002)............................................................................................... |
$92 billion7 |
Measures
Effective management of diabetes includes appropriate receipt of hemoglobin A1c tests, eye exams, and foot exams, as well as measures of associated outcomes (such as control of cholesterol, blood pressure, and HbA1civ levels). The two core report measures highlighted in this section are:
- Receipt of three recommended diabetic services
- Controlled hemoglobin, cholesterol, and blood pressure
In addition, a supplemental measure is also presented:
- State variation in hemoglobin A1c testing
iv HbA1c is glycosylated hemoglobin—the higher the level of glucose in the blood, the higher the HbA1c level.
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