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Depression is twice as prevalent in people with diabetes than in similar people without diabetes, according to Greg Nichols, PhD, a senior researcher with Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, who presented his research at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association. He said that 75% of the time depression was diagnosed about four years prior to a diabetes diagnosis. He says that depression is a component of the "insulin resistance syndrome," which is a constellation of diseases including diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease that are more common in people less sensitive to the effects of insulin.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the incidence of diabetes jumped by 6% in 1999, after increasing 33% from 1990 to 1998. "This dramatic new evidence signals the unfolding of an epidemic in the United States," said Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, director of CDC. There are now an estimated 16 million Americans with the disease, and about one-third of them do not know they have it. About 6 million people age 65 or older have diabetes, which represents about 18% of all people in this age group.

Some other facts about the disease:

Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death on U.S. death certificates in 1996, and is still believed to be underreported.

Death rates are twice as high among middle-aged people with diabetes as among middle-aged people without diabetes.

Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times as high as that of adults without diabetes.

The risk of stroke is 2 to 4 times higher in people with diabetes.

An estimated 60% to 65% of people with diabetes have high blood pressure.

Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults 20 to 74 years old.

60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage, like impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other nerve problems.

More than half of lower limb amputations in the United States occur among people with diabetes.

The Mayo Clinic reports results of a new study, led by David Knopman, M.D, which links diabetes and high blood pressure in adults age 40-70 to a decline in mental ability. He said, "While the participants in the study may not have noticed any decline in their mental ability, the decline was statistically significant.""

The study also compared the results between two age groups: those under age 58 and those age 58 and older. Diabetes was associated with greater cognitive decline in both age groups when participants who have diabetes were compared to participants without the disease. High blood pressure, however, was found to be associated with greater cognitive decline in only the age 58 and older group of participants.

The researchers suggested that interventions aimed at hypertension or diabetes that begin before age 60 might lessen the burden of cognitive impairment in later life. Dr. Knopman said, "The results point to the fact that there are things some people may be able to do during middle age to help preserve our mental abilities later in life."

A new study published in Nature Medicine reports on progress in the development of a painless method of drawing blood for diabetics. Robert Langer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created an appliance which can do these painless procedures. Low frequency ultrasound opens pores through which the fluid is drawn and tested for glucose, after which the pores close up again. He says more testing is needed, but hopes such a device could be available on the market within 3 to 5 years. Another non-invasive device, the GlucoWatch, is awaiting FDA approval. It uses electricity to pull fluid through the skin and measure glucose.