Diabetes and Women's Health Across the Life Stages

Book excerpt: The number of persons diagnosed with diabetes increased 5x between 1958 & 1997. More than 16 million Amer. have diabetes, more than half of them women, with the prevalence of diabetes at least 2-4 times higher among women of color. The report looks at the socioeconomic environ. that has contributed to the increase of diabetes & the challenges we face as we seek to educate women about the behavioral changes necessary for prevention. The report is structured to reflect the manifestations of diabetes at different stages of women's life, including the threat of type 1 & the emergence of type 2 diabetes in youth, gestational diabetes among women of childbearing age, & type 2 diabetes as a disease of middle-aged & older women. Charts & tables.