According to the CDC journal of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (easily one of the least appealing names of a publication that I've ever come across, but I digress), half of the estimated 21 million adults living with diabetes in the U.S. rate themselves as having only "fair" or "poor" health. The researchers involved in putting forth this information found this self-estimation of health very unsettling, for it can be associated with the increasing number of people with diabetes who are experiencing complications such as kidney failure, lower extremity amputation, and heart disease.

Despite what may be expected, these self-appraisals are coming not from people who are 45 and older, rather they are being reported by people aged 18 to 44. The information was collected through a survey conducted by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and reexamined by the CDC. The researchers discovered that almost half of the respondents who had diabetes reported being only in "fair" or "poor" health -- as compared to people who do not have diabetes, who were three times less likely to claim such an unhealthy status. Moreover, the statistics from this study show that the reports of people with diabetes who reported "fair" or 'poor" health rose from about 36% in 1996 to 43.4% in 2005.

It's highly unlikely that these self-reports of health are anything but accurate, since the overall number of people of diabetes soared from 9.9 million to 13.7 million between 1996 and 2003. And, the individual spending of people with diabetes also rose markedly over this period of time; from an average of $476 to $883. These numbers are staggering, and it only serves to further support the need to find a cure for this chronic illness. If the government needs more convincing (as if the numbers mentioned aren't somehow enough), it should look at just how much diabetes will cost the health care system in the years to come. As it stands now, overall care for patients with diabetes -- including treatment in and out of the hospital and for other illness such as congestive heart failure -- averaged more than $10,000 annually. Bottom line: find a cure. Treatment is great, insulin is amazing, and all these fancy glucose monitors and every other expensive gadget to hit the market are all well and good, but they are not a cure. Plain and simple. Again, find a cure. Fast.