• 700,000 New Yorkers have diabetes - almost a third don't know they have it.
• More than 100,000 New Yorkers with very poorly controlled diabetes are at high risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and amputations.
• If you have diabetes, keeping your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol in check, and not smoking, will help prevent complications.
• Talk to your doctor about how you are doing. Regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and taking medications are very important for control of diabetes.
Diabetes is epidemic in New York City, fueled by the increase in obesity nationwide and worldwide. In the past 10 years, the number of people with diabetes in NYC has more than doubled. An estimated 530,000 adult New Yorkers know they have diabetes. For every two people who have diabetes, there is another person who has it and doesn't yet know it, suggesting another 265,000 New Yorkers with diabetes. Since early symptoms may be mild or unrecognizable, people may have diabetes 5-7 years before being diagnosed. Though serious, diabetes can be prevented and controlled.
The Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP) strives to prevent the occurrence of diabetes and improve the quality of care and quality of life for New Yorkers with diabetes.
The DPCP has 5 key areas of work:
- • Prevention of diabetes
- • Improvement of diabetes quality of care
- • Education
- • Policy and advocacy
- • Surveillance and evaluation
A1C Registry
The New York City Board of Health recently required the reporting of hemoglobin A1C, a measure of blood sugar control over three months, by most clinical labs that report electronically to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. For more information about the A1C Registry or to opt out of any registry-related interventions, please click here.
