WEDNESDAY JUNE 25, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday released new 2007 prevalence data estimates showing that diabetes now affect 24 million people or about 8 percent of the population in the United States, an increase of more than 3 million in nearly two years.

In addition, another 57 million people are estimated to have pre-diabetes, a condition that if not controlled could become diabetes. Among diabetics, about 25 percent did not know they had the disease compared to 30 percent two years ago.

"It is concerning to know that we have more people developing diabetes, and these data are a reminder of the importance of increasing awareness of this condition, especially among people who are at high risk. ," said Dr. Ann Albright, director of the CDC Division of Diabetes Translation.

"On the other hand, it is good to see that more people are aware that they have diabetes. That is an indication that our efforts to increase awareness are working, and more importantly, that more people are better prepared to manage this disease and its complications."

Diabetes is a disease that features high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin production that causes sugar to build up in the body.

Diabetes can cause serious complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations and is the seventh leading cause of death in the country.

The new CDC data show among adults, diabetes increased in both men and women and in all age groups, but still disproportionately affects the elderly. About 25 percent of those age 60 or older are estimated to have diabetes in 2007.

Minority populations were hit hardest by the disease. Diabetes was found in 16.5 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 11.8 percent of blacks, and 10.4 percent of Hispanics including 12.6 percent of Puerto Ricans, 11.9 percent of Mexican Americans and 8.2 percent of Cubans.   Asian Americans and whites had the lowest rates, 7.5 percent and 6.6 percent respectively.

The CDC also released data on estimates of diagnosed diabetes for all counties in the U.S. Nationally, Areas of the Southeast and Appalachia where people are at higher risk for many chronic diseases saw an increase in the rate of diabetes.

"These data are an important step in identifying the places in a state that have the greatest number of people affected by diabetes," said Dr.Albright.

"If states know which communities or areas have more people with diabetes, they can use that information to target their efforts or tailor them to meet the needs of specific communities."

Cited below are some data from the CDC estimates:

Prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes in the United States, all ages, 2007

Total: 23.6 million people or 7.8% of the population have diabetes.

Diagnosed: 17.9 million people

Undiagnosed: 5.7 million people

Prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes among people aged 20 years or older, United States, 2007

Age 20 years or older: 23.5 million or 10.7% of all people in this age group have diabetes.

Age 60 years or older: 12.2 million or 23.1% of all people in this age group have diabetes.

Men: 12.0 million or 11.2% of all men aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Women: 11.5 million or 10.2% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Non-Hispanic whites: 14.9 million, or 9.8% of all non-Hispanic whites aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Non-Hispanic blacks: 3.7 million, or 14.7% of all non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in people younger than 20 years of age, United States, 2007

• About 186,300 people younger than 20 years have diabetes (type 1 or type 2). This represents 0.2% of all people in this age group. Estimates of undiagnosed diabetes are unavailable for this age group.

Incidence of diagnosed diabetes among people aged 20 years or older, United States, 2007

About 1.6 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2007.

Estimated diabetes costs in the United States in 2007

Total (direct and indirect): $174 billion

Direct medical costs: $116 billion

• After adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.

Indirect costs: $58 billion (disability, work loss, premature mortality)