Dillard University School of Public Health: November is American Diabetes Month

Diabetes is a serious disease. If it isn’t managed, it can damage many parts of the body, leading to heart attacks, strokes, amputation, blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage. But there is good news: diabetes complications can be prevented or delayed by properly managing blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Eating healthy, being physically active and quitting smoking also can help lower the risk of diabetes complications.

November is American Diabetes Month a time to communicate the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of diabetes prevention and control. Dillard University’s School of Public Health is rallying the Dillard community to join the millions in themovement to Stop Diabetes®. Stop Diabetes is the American Diabetes Association’s movement to end the devastating toll that diabetes takes on the lives of millions of individuals across ournation.

With nearly 26 million children and adults in Americanliving with diabetes, and another 79 million at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, the disease is taking a devastating physical, emotional and financial toll on our country. Yet, most Americans don’t consider diabetes a serious matter. They feel it is someone else’s responsibility; someone else’s problem. Minority populations are disproportionately affected by diabetes. Racial minorities have a higher incidence of diabetes and are often less able to obtain the care they need to manage their disease. With better knowledge of the causes and complications of diabetes, those at risk can make more informed lifestyle choices and avoid this debilitating disease.

Recent numbers by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paint a desperate situation of where we are at, and where we areheaded:
•4.9 million African American adults, or 18.7 percent of all African Americans aged 20 years or older, have diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes.
•Every 17 seconds, someone is diagnosed with diabetes.
•Diabetes kills more people each year than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
•Recent estimates project that as many as 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take steps to Stop Diabetes. Now is the time to act.

The School of Public Health will be raising awareness about diabetes by providing educational materials the week of November 14-November 18. The School of Public Health encourages you to learn all the ways you can take action during American Diabetes Month by visiting facebook.com/AmericanDiabetesAssociation, stopdiabetes.com, calling 1-800-DIABETES, or texting JOIN to 69866 (standard data and message rates apply).


Valandra L. German, DrPH, MPH
Interim Chair/Assistant Professor
School of Public Health
College of Professional Studies
Gentilly Center for Health Disparities & Disease Control
2601 Gentilly Boulevard
New Orleans, LA 70122
504-816-4477 (phone)
504-816-4004 (fax)
http://www.dillard.edu/

Dillard University School of Public Health: November is American Diabetes Month