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"We believe you will find several improvement opportunities in thisreport," says Health Innovations principal Jerry Reeves. M.D. "For instance,the proportion of Nevada's diabetes patients with at least two seriousdiabetes complications or comorbidities is substantially higher than inPhoenix or the nation as a whole. And the proportion of commercial insurancediabetes patients receiving A1C tests in 2006 is below the national average."
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Six in 10 Nevadans diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are working age
According to this report, nearly six of every 10 (59.2 percent) peoplewith Type 2 Diabetes in 2006 in Nevada were between the ages of 18 and 64years old, the prime working ages for most Americans. This was significantlymore than the national average of 54.2 percent. Moreover, the percentage ofNevadans diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes who had two or more complications fromthe disease is 13.6 percent, sharply higher than the national average of 8.4percent.
Insulin use is lower among Type 2 diabetes patients in Nevada
The share of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in Nevada using anyinsulin product was substantially lower than that of the nation. In the stateof Nevada, 29.5 percent of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes used anyinsulin product, fractionally higher than the Las Vegas share (29.1 percent),but lower than Reno share (30.4 percent) and especially the national share(34.8 percent).
Quality of care shows positives
The quality of care indicators for Nevadans with Type 2 diabetes, a majorconcern, heralded more positive signs for employers who want to ensure thattheir employees receive appropriate care. The Nevada Type 2 Diabetes Reportalso provides the percentage of people with diabetes receiving recommendedservices, such as for glucose, Hemoglobin A1C and cholesterol blood tests, aswell as eye exams and urine tests for glucose. The percentages for many ofthese care indicators are much closer to the corresponding national averages.For example, people with Type 2 diabetes in Nevada who received a HemoglobinA1C test (a key marker for managing diabetes) in 2006 was 74.3 percentcompared to the national average of 73.9 percent. But 83.0 percent of peoplewith diabetes received the cholesterol test in Nevada compared to the nationalaverage of 83.7 percent.
Next Steps
According to reports from the Centers for Disease Control, more than 17million Americans have diabetes, with an average of 1 million new cases beingdiagnosed each year in people over the age of 20. Nine out of ten of thesepatients have the Type 2 variety. The cost of diabetes in the US wasapproximately $132 billion in 2002, with $92 billion spent on medicalservices. The economic loss to the US economy due to higher rates of lost worktime, disability and premature mortality associated with diabetes in theworking population was approximately $40 billion in 2002. According to reportscollated by Centers for Disease Control, the prevalence of obesity in Nevadaincreased by 28% between 2001 and 2006. And the prevalence of diabetesincreased by 32% during the same 5 years. The health of Nevadans is gettingworse.
Health Innovations and NHCC hope concerned citizens and stakeholders willdevelop, implement
