Nearly 18.2 million Americans have diabetes and one third of them, about 5.2 million, are not aware they have it. Diabetes affects one in five Americans age 65 and older and the aging of the population, along with the obesity epidemic, will only intensify the impact of this deadly and debilitating disease.


Some of the factors that increase the risk of diabetes are age, ethnicity, obesity, lack of physical activity, family history, hypertension and cholesterol. Diabetes is associated with serious complications of the heart and circulation, leading to coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke, as well as heart failure.


Neuropathy, another complication, affects nerve sensation. It begins in the fingers and toes and moves up the arms and legs. The symptoms are tingling, weakness, burning sensations and loss of the sense of warm and cold, numbness and deep pain. Between 20% and 40% of older diabetics have neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease or both, putting them at increased risk for foot complications, such as ulcerated or infected feet or loss of limb.


Diabetes can cause retinopathy and eye complications and accounts for 12,000 to 24,000 of new cases of blindness annually. Studies also indicate that patients with type-2 diabetes face a higher than average risk of developing dementia, as well as problems with attention and memory.


People with diabetes face a higher risk for the flu and pneumonia; it doubles the risk of depression, reduces the bone quality and increases the risk of hearing loss and fatty liver disease. Obese women with type-2 diabetes face a higher risk of uterine cancer and both men and women with diabetes seem to have a higher risk of colon and rectal cancer.


When you think in terms of all of the disease and illness associated with diabetes, you soon will realize that diabetics are more likely to be dependent on caregivers for basic daily tasks, such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, continence and transferring.


And that's not the worst of it. More than 80% of older Americans are living with diabetes or other chronic disease, and of those half suffer from more than one debilitating condition. About 22 million American families, almost one in every four, are involved in caring for someone age 50 or older, and that number is expected to rise to 39 million by 2008. Plus, older caregivers have a 63% higher death rate than persons who are not caregivers.


Today you can't pick up a newspaper or magazine without reading about cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and increases in the cost of health care. With rising trade and budget deficits, and the looming threat of a recession, this society cannot afford to give its members the care they need and deserve, regardless of age. The message coming from Washington is "personal responsibility." Government programs designed to help those truly in need should be kept intact, but they are simply inadequate to the rising demand.


If you have researched Long-Term Care insurance and have decided to take a pass, it is now time to reconsider. The window of opportunity is closing, both from an insurability and cost perspective. If you have a family history of diabetes or you have already been diagnosed with diabetes or any chronic illness, now is the time to re-visit Long-Term Care insurance. Do not assume that you are not insurable. Remember, patient power comes from the ability to pay privately.


Dorothy McMahon is a Long-Term Care Insurance Consultant. Reach her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@aol.com.

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