Diabetic Burnout

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) -

Diabetes is an epidemic in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 34 million Americans have diabetes and face its devastating consequences.

What’s true nationwide is also true in Wyoming.

Wyoming’s diabetes epidemic: § Approximately 38,658 people in Wyoming, or 8.7% of the adult population, have been diagnosed with diabetes.

An additional 12,000 people in Wyoming have diabetes but don’t know it, greatly increasing their health risk.

There are 148,000 people in Wyoming, 33.6% of the adult population, who have prediabetes with blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

Every year an estimated 3,980 people in Wyoming are diagnosed with diabetes.

Diabetes is expensive: People with diabetes have medical expenses approximately 2.3 times higher than those who do not have diabetes.

Total direct medical expenses for diagnosed diabetes in Wyoming were estimated at $311 million in 2017.

In addition, another $113 million was spent on indirect costs from lost productivity due to diabetes. Improving lives, preventing diabetes, and finding a cure: In 2021, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health invested no money in diabetes-related research projects in Wyoming, however, $1,001,030 was invested in 2020.

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center has a center for diabetic education and can be reached during business hours at (307-996-4770)