It's a pretty well-known fact that type 2 diabetes is hitting New York City hard. And the powers-that-be in the City are doing something about it: New York City was the first place in the nation to initiate a diabetes-tracking registry intended to guide healthcare spending to maximum effect.

So, just how bad is the situation? The city's health department just completed a major study on that very topic and made the results public this week. Some numbers: diabetes causes 20,000 hospitalizations, 3,000 amputations, 1,400 cases of kidney failure, and 4,700 diabetes-related deaths annually. The financial cost of treatment is a staggering $6.5 billion annually.

The report clearly shows that people in lower socioeconomic groups, clustered in a handful of poorer neighborhoods, are suffering disproportionately to the well-heeled and well-educated residents of the chic Upper East Side.

As is the case everywhere in the US - not to mention, globally - a great many people with type 2 diabetes or who are at risk for the disease do not know it, and city officials are aiming to exponentially increase awareness in coming years. The entire report is accessible online in PDF-form at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's website.