Diabetes More Serious Than Most Realize

OMAHA, Neb. -- Ignorance can kill.

Survey results just released by the American Diabetes Association show Americans don't realize diabetes can kill.

Less than half of the respondents chose diabetes when asked whether diabetes, breast cancer or AIDS causes the most deaths. Diabetes kills more than breast cancer and AIDS combined.

Sue McLaughlin of the American Diabetes Association says people with diabetes show few external symptoms, so they aren't viewed as seriously ill. But she says the disease damages every tissue inside the body.

President Barack Obama has proclaimed this National Diabetes Month, and McLaughlin says it should encourage people to learn more about the disease. She says the number of cases in the U.S. works out to the equivalent of one diagnosis every 20 seconds and people need to know that it's serious.