Health Condition Support
Chances are you know someone who has diabetes — or you have diabetes yourself. That’s because more than one in ten Americans have the disease. According to the American Diabetes Association, that number is growing. More than 38 million Americans are living with the disease and 1.2 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year. It’s the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S.
Those numbers might surprise you, but what’s really eye-opening is that more than 97 million Americans age 18 and older have prediabetes, a condition where a person’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Having prediabetes increases your risk for developing type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease. You can have prediabetes and not know it because it doesn’t always have symptoms.
4 key challenges to managing diabetes
1. Cost
Treating diabetes is expensive. On average, people with diabetes have medical expenditures about 2.6 times higher than those who don’t have the disease.
The average annual costs (medications, doctor visits, blood sugar monitoring) for the average patient can cost over $4,600. Overall spending on insulin tripled in the past 10 years ($8 billion in 2012 to $22.3 billion in 2022). Costs per person vary based on insurance, disease severity and presence of other chronic conditions.
Some people with diabetes are forced to choose between insulin or putting food on the table as insulin prices rise. A report by the Commonwealth Fund shows that as many as one in four people with diabetes report rationing their insulin to save money.
2. Self-monitoring
Self-monitoring blood glucose is important for people who take insulin to manage their diabetes because it provides immediate data for assessing how their food choices, physical activity levels and medications affect their blood glucose control.
For some people, self-monitoring can be frustrating. They may not be educated on interpreting their test results, might feel regular testing is cumbersome or experience pain when they prick their fingers. Expensive testing supplies, as well as access to supplies, can also be barriers to self-monitoring.
3. Medication adherence
Medication adherence is the extent to which patients take medication as prescribed by their doctor. Besides trying to reduce costs, common reasons for non-adherence are forgetfulness and lack of perceived benefit. Fear of injection can also be a barrier for people who use insulin.
For people with diabetes, medication adherence is critical for disease management. Ultimately, it can lead to lower per-patient costs and better clinical outcomes. Yet, a study showed that one in six non-elderly adults with diabetes reported nonadherence to taking their medications because of cost. Non-adherence leads to increased morbidity and mortality and is also associated with a greater risk of a serious cardiac event. It increases costs, too.
Another study shows that addressing overall medication adherence in the U.S. has the potential to reduce annual health care costs by up to $300 billion.
4. Healthy lifestyle
Changes in lifestyle and dietary patterns are essential to managing diabetes. Lifestyle modifications include regular physical exercise, weight management and diet control help mitigate the long-term effects of diabetes which can include:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Nerve damage
- Kidney damage
- Eye damage
Health literacy, the ability to understand and use health information and services, can also play a role. And it’s common because medical issues and health care are complicated. Nearly nine out of ten adults in the U.S, struggle with health literacy which is prevalent among marginalized populations including people who are older, lower income and non-native English speakers.
Food insecurity can also be a barrier to leading a healthy lifestyle. Many people who are food insecure consume empty calories that offer minimal nutrition. Their access to healthy options could be limited by budget, difficulty holding down a job due to diabetes complications, lack of transportation or having to choose between meals or diabetes medication.
Mom's Meals® can help
Diabetes-friendly meals
For individuals with prediabetes and diabetes, Mom’s Meals offers convenient diabetes-friendly menu choices that are based on standards from the American Diabetes Association and are designed to help take the guesswork out of getting proper nutrition.
Diabetes brochure
Download the brochure to find out how maintaining a nutritious diet has been shown to help prevent, manage and even reverse the progression of diabetes, as well as other chronic conditions that can affect an individual’s health.
