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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2007;297:2337-2338.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

While physicians know patients with poor control of type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of a variety of complications, quantifying that danger has been lacking—until now.

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) issued a new report on the prevalence and costs of health problems related to this form of diabetes, a disease affecting about 18 million people in the United States (http://www.aace.com/newsroom/press/2007/images/DiabetesComplicationsReport_FINAL.pdf). The report, State of Diabetes Complications in America, notes that 57.9% of patients with diabetes have 1 or more health complications (14.3% have 3 or more). It also estimates that in 2006, such complications lead to $22.9 billion in direct medical costs for physician and health care professional visits, hospital stays, prescribed medicines, and other medical services and equipment.

Patients with type 2 diabetes are at higher risk of developing macrovascular and microvascular complications compared with people who have normal blood . . . [Full Text of this Article]

QUANTIFYING THE PROBLEM