Predict high-risk diabetes patients for early intervention, reducing complications and costs.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose. Hyperglycaemia, also called raised blood glucose or raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body's systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.
Size of the Problem
Diabetes affects approximately 34 million adults—more than 10% of Americans—and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States (1). Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to biochemical imbalances that cause acute life-threatening events and hospitalization (2). Potential complications include significantly increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, lower-limb amputations, and adult blindness. Diabetes is also steadily becoming more common; in the last 20 years, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled (1). But despite its increasing prevalence, more than one in five people with diabetes are estimated to be undiagnosed and unaware of their condition (1).Diabetes is also responsible for exorbitant expenditures with a total estimated cost of $327 billion (3). On average, people with diagnosed diabetes incur medical expenditures of $16,752 per year, approximately $9,601 of which is attributed to diabetes.