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Approximately 9.3 million or 8.7% of all women over the age of 20 in the United States have diabetes. However, about one-third of them do not know it. The prevalence of diabetes is at least 2-4 times higher among African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, and Asian/Pacific Islander women than among white women. Because of the increasing lifespan of women and the rapid growth of minority populations, the number of women in the United States at high risk for diabetes and its complications is increasing.
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The risk for cardiovascular disease, the most common complication attributable to diabetes, is more serious among women than men. Deaths from heart disease in women with diabetes have increased 23% over the past 30 years, compared to a 27% decrease in women without diabetes.
- The risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is 50% higher among women than men. DKA, often called diabetic coma, is a condition brought on by poorly controlled diabetes and marked by high blood glucose levels and ketones (by-products of fat metabolism in the blood). Although it is accompanied by high blood glucose levels, DKA is not caused by high blood sugar; it is caused by lack of insulin. Before insulin therapy was available, DKA was the predominant cause of death from diabetes.
- Women with diabetes are 7.6 times as likely to suffer peripheral vascular disease (PVD) than women without diabetes. PVD is a disorder resulting in reduced flow of blood and oxygen to tissues in the feet and legs. The principal symptom of PVD is intermittent claudication (pain in the thigh, calf, or buttocks during exercise).
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