More than 18 million Americans have diabetes, but of the 13 million diagnosed with the disease, 63 percent don’t have their blood sugar levels under control, putting them at risk for complications such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart attacks or amputation.
The public service announcements, filmed by mayors from Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Providence and elsewhere, urge diabetics to get regular blood readings called “A1C” tests.
This test measures a person’s average blood sugar level over a three-month period. It is the best way to determine if a person has the disease under control, says the American Diabetes Association. A person with a healthy blood sugar level should have an A1C reading of 7 percent or lower.
“Many people with diabetes aren’t aware of this test and even fewer are meeting this goal,” said Dr. James R. Gavin III, president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Most insurance plans, Medicare and Medicaid pay for this test.
Diabetes is a genetic disease in which the body doesn’t produce or properly use insulin, the hormone needed to convert food into energy. The disease can be triggered by obesity, though it is more common among blacks, Hispanics and American Indians.
Uncontrolled diabetes accounts for nearly 10,000 avoidable deaths a year and 6.8 million sick days, according to the private National Committee for Quality Assurance’s 2004 report. Health care costs related to the disease totaled $132 billion in 2002, the group says.
Mr. Coleman said that when he was diagnosed with diabetes 11 years ago, he was overweight and smoking. He heard family members talk about having a “little sugar” but never took it seriously.
Now, the 50-year-old black mayor has quit smoking and hits the gym every morning. His latest A1C readings were under 7 percent.
“It has not been easy to get there,” Mr. Coleman said. “It has been something that I have had to work at every day, but it has led to a wonderful, wonderful life.”