Diabetes Quiz and Statistics – Part 1: PLoS Medicine is an open source directory of medical information. I recently encountered a ten-question diabetes quiz developed by Gavin Yamey and Virginia Barbour that really should be shared. Please feel free to see how much you know about diabetes and how it affects people around the world and in your own home.
Question 1. In the year 2000, roughly how many adults (20 years of age and older) worldwide had diabetes mellitus?
_ 50 million
_ 170 million
_ 500 million
Question 2. What is the approximate annual direct cost of intensive insulin treatment?
_ About $3,500 per patient
_ About $7,000 per patient
_ About $10,000 per patient
Question 3. What is the approximate cost of islet cell transplantation?
_ $50,000 per patient, per transplant
_ $150,000 per patient, per transplant
_ $250,000 per patient, per transplant
Question 4. After 20 years of type 1 diabetes, what is the estimated cumulative risk of albuminuria?
_ Around 5%
_ Around 16%
_ Around 30%
_ Around 50%
Question 5. Which of the following interventions for reducing the risk of progression of early diabetic neuropathy is best supported by evidence?
_ Tight blood pressure control
_ Protein restriction
_ Lipid lowering
Now let’s take a close look at the answers and statistics for each of these questions.
Answer 1. 170 million
Experts estimated that the number of cases of diabetes worldwide in the year 2000 among adults 20 years of age and older was about 171 million. Data on the prevalence of diabetes according to age and sex from a limited number of countries were extrapolated to all 191 World Health Organization member states and applied to United Nations’ population estimates for the year 2000 and the year 2030. The authors estimated that there will be 366 million people with diabetes in the year 2030.
Answer 2. About $3,500 per patient
In one study performed in Israel, the approximate annual direct cost of intensive insulin treatment was around $3,300 per patient, which is about three times more than that of standard insulin treatment. However, when other factors such as the reduction in complications are taken into account, such treatment appears to be cost-effective.
Answer 3. $150,000 per patient, per transplant In the United States, islet cell transplantation costs approximately $150,000 per patient, per transplant.
Answer 4. Around 30%
One study showed that the cumulative risk of proteinuria is similar in type 2 and type 1 diabetes—27% and 28%, respectively, after 20 years of diabetes. Another showed that around 30% of patients with type 1 diabetes had developed sustained microalbuminuria within 20 years.
Answer 5. Tight blood pressure control
Although there have been no systematic reviews that prove the benefit of any of these three interventions, there is, nevertheless, evidence to support a correlation between tight blood pressure control and a decreased rate of nephropathy progression. Importantly, the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study Group found that the control of blood pressure was a far more important intervention to prevent mortality than blood glucose control.
Five more questions about diabetes will be presented in part 2 of this two-part series as we continue to work to provide solid and timely information for diabetics and their families.
