A healthcare consulting group says the Chicago area has a higher rate of Type 2 diabetes than the national average.
The Midwest Business Group on Health said the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the Chicago area was 10.5 percent in 2005, compared with 7 percent nationally, The Chicago Tribune said Thursday. The prevalence for all of Illinois was 8 percent.
The group, which helps major Chicago employers with their healthcare-purchasing decisions, said direct and indirect costs of diabetes to employers amount to more than $130 billion a year nationally.
Midwest Business also said nearly two-thirds of people with diabetes in the Chicago area are not taking enough action to control their disease. The group is calling for employers to assist in the identification, diagnosis, education, treatment and self-management of the disease.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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