Sharing LIGHT and HOPE for People with or at Risk for Diabetes
Women and Diabetes:
Prevalence
Nationally, diagnosed diabetes (*including gestational diabetes) among women has increased almost 50 percent over the past decade. 1
Approximately 2% - 5% of all pregnancies in the US are complicated by diabetes. 2
Over 290,000 (9.7%) adult Kentuckians have diabetes, one third of whom are undiagnosed.
Diabetes prevalence in Kentucky is increasing. In 2001, 6.7% of the adult population in Kentucky had been told by a doctor they had diabetes.
Among women in Kentucky diabetes prevalence has increased from 4.0% in 1995 to 6.4% in 2001.
Source: Kentucky Department of Public Health, BRFSS, 2001.
Women with less than a high school education have a higher prevalence of diabetes than women with more education.
Source: Kentucky Department for Public Health, BRFSS, 2001.
Diabetes occurs among all ages and races, but the elderly and certain racial groups, such as African-Americans, are affected disproportionately.
The national prevalence of diabetes is at least 2 – 4 times higher among black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian/Pacific Islander women than among white women. 3
More African-American women in Kentucky have diabetes than white women. 4
Source: Kentucky Department for Public Health, BRFSS, 2001.
The prevalence of diabetes increases as women age, with the highest prevalence among women aged 55 and over.
Source: Kentucky Department for Public Health, BRFSS, 2001.
The prevalence of diabetes is higher in rural Kentucky than urban.
Source: Kentucky Department for Public Health, BRFSS.
In 2001, Cumberland Valley ADD had the highest prevalence of diabetes with 9.7 percent, while the Bluegrass ADD had the lowest prevalence at 4 percent. 5
One in every two adult Kentuckians is at increased risk of developing diabetes due to risk factors such as age, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle.
Obesity rates for women in Kentucky have risen from 12.7 percent in 1990 to 23.6 percent in 2001. 6
In 2001, 36.3 percent of adult women in Kentucky reported no physical activity in the prior month, compared to 28.1 percent of women nationwide. 7
Mortality and Morbidity
Diabetes was the 4th leading cause of death for black women in Kentucky and the 7th leading cause of death for white women in 2000.
Source: Kentucky Department of Public Health, 2000 Kentucky Annual Vital Statistics Report.
For all age groups, more women than men were hospitalized in Kentucky in 2000, with a primary diagnosis of diabetes. 8
In Kentucky, 13 percent of all hospitalizations had diabetes listed as the primary or secondary reason for admission. 9
Women are at greater risk for blindness due to diabetes than men. 10
Diabetes is a major contributor to health problems such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and non-traumatic leg and foot amputations. 11
*Gestational Diabetes is defined as being told by a doctor that you have diabetes only during pregnancy. 1CDC Press Release: CDC to Convene Task Force on Diabetes and Women, October 22, 2001 2Beckles, GLA, Thompson-Reid PE, editors. Diabetes and Women’s Health Across the Life Stages: A Public Health Perspective. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Diabetes Translation, 2001. 3Beckles, GLA, Thompson-Reid PE, editors. Diabetes and Women’s Health Across the Life Stages: A Public Health Perspective. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Diabetes Translation, 2001. 4Kentucky Department for Public Health, BRFSS data. 5Kentucky Department for Public Health, BRFSS, 2001. 6CDC, BRFSS 2001. 7CDC, BRFSS, 2001. 8Kentucky Department for Public Health, Health Policy Development Branch, 2000 Inpatient Hospital Discharge File. 9Impact of Diabetes in Kentucky, 1999 10Harris MI, Klein R, Cowie CC, Rowland M, Byrd-Holt DD. Is the risk of diabetic retinopathy greater in non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans than in non-Hispanic whites with type 2 diabetes? A U.S. population study. Diabetes Care 1998;21(8):1230-5. 11CDC Press Release: CDC to Convene Task Force on Diabetes and Women, October 22, 2001.
Kentucky Diabetes Network, Inc.
P O Box 4245
Frankfort, Kentucky 40604-4245
Women and Diabetes:
