10/31/2011
Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission Declare November National Diabetes Awareness Month
In Kansas, there are roughly 180,000 adults diagnosed with diabetes. An additional 120,000 adult Kansans have undiagnosed diabetes. In Sedgwick County, 8.7 percent of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Based on national estimates for diabetes-related medical expenditures and productivity losses, the estimated cost of diabetes in Kansas was more than $1.5 billion in 2007. For an average company in Kansas with 500 employees, the cost is $300,000!
Mayor Carl Brewer, the Wichita City Council, and the Sedgwick County Commission will be declaring November “National Diabetes Awareness Month” at the Wichita City Council meeting on Nov. 1 and Sedgwick County Commission meeting on Nov. 2.
Josh and Sara Jabara, parents of type 1 diabetic Jenna and Corporate Chairs of the 2012 Wichita Walk to Cure Diabetes, will accept both proclamations on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
JDRF International is the worldwide leader in funding research to cure type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that strikes children and adults suddenly and lasts a lifetime. JDRF is the leading funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes science.
Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting every organ system. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Type 1 diabetes usually strikes in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, and lasts a lifetime. Just to survive, people with type 1 diabetes must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump.
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person’s body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively. Type 2 is usually diagnosed in adulthood and does not always require insulin injections. However, increased obesity has led to a recent rise in cases of type 2 diabetes in children and young adults.
JDRF’s mission has been constant since it was founded four decades ago: to find a cure for type 1 diabetes through the support of research. Until a cure is found, JDRF is also committed to working tirelessly to develop new and better treatments to improve the lives of people who have type 1 diabetes and keep them as healthy as possible.
Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.5 billion to diabetes research, including more than $107 million last year. More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education. For more information, please visit www.jdrf.org.
Type 1 diabetes research: Join us in our search for ways to prevent, better treat, and ultimately cure type 1 diabetes: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International.
