Dickinson-Iron County Critical Health Indicators
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Diabetes Related Deaths
What Is It?
Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high glucose levels due to reduced levels of insulin produced by the pancreas or the body's inability to use insulin. It is associated with increased risk of heart attack, blindness, birth defects, amputation, and kidney failure.
Diabetes deaths, as an underlying cause, is the seventh leading cause of all deaths in Michigan and the ninth leading cause of Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) for people below the age of 75. There are two ways to measure diabetes deaths: 1) diabetes deaths that are based on the number of deaths with diabetes listed as an underlying cause, and 2) diabetes related deaths that are based on the number of deaths with diabetes listed as an underlying cause plus deaths which list diabetes as a contributing cause or other significant condition.
How are Dickinson and Iron Counties doing?
The 1998 age-adjusted rate for diabetes-related deaths was 37.1 and 25.9 deaths per 100,000 population in Dickinson and Iron Counties, respectively.
Diabetes-related Deaths and Death Rates
Dickinson County Residents, 1995-2000
| Three-Year Moving Averages | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All Ages | Age Under 50 | Age 50 - 74 | Age 75 and Older | ||||||||
| Average |
Age-Adjusted Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
|||||
| 1998-2000 | 26.0 | 63.0 ±14.3 | 0.3 | * | 7.3 | 109.7 ±21.3 | 18.3 | 672.8 ±13.5 | ||||
| 1997-1999 | 26.3 | 64.7 ±14.5 | 0.7 | * | 8.7 | 130.4 ±19.6 | 17.0 | 631.3 ±14.0 | ||||
| Five-Year Moving Averages | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All Ages | Age Under 50 | Age 50 - 74 | Age 75 and Older | ||||||||
| Average |
Age-Adjusted Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
|||||
| 1996-2000 | 27.4 | 67.0 ±11.4 | 0.4 | * | 9.4 | 141.8 ±14.6 | 17.6 | 656.8 ±10.7 | ||||
| 1995-1999 | 27.4 | 67.7 ±11.5 | 0.6 | * | 9.8 | 148.6 ±14.3 | 17.0 | 645.0 ±10.8 | ||||
|
Note: The manner
in which underlying cause of death is coded and classified was
revised in 1999 to reflect changing medical opinion and practice.
The comparability between classification schemes for this particular
cause of death is high (1.01), meaning that the change should have
little or no impact on the comparisons of mortality statistics over
time.
|
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Diabetes-related Deaths and Death Rates
Iron County Residents, 1995-2000
| Three-Year Moving Averages | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All Ages | Age Under 50 | Age 50 - 74 | Age 75 and Older | ||||||||
| Average |
Age-Adjusted Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
|||||
| 1998-2000 | 17.3 | 67.9 ±19.0 | - | - | 4.0 | 100.5 ±28.9 | 13.3 | 747.0 ±15.8 | ||||
| 1997-1999 | 16.3 | 64.3 ±18.6 | - | - | 3.7 | 92.1 ±30.2 | 12.7 | 714.8 ±16.2 | ||||
| Five-Year Moving Averages | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All Ages | Age Under 50 | Age 50 - 74 | Age 75 and Older | ||||||||
| Average |
Age-Adjusted Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
Average |
Age-Specific Rate |
|||||
| 1996-2000 | 16.2 | 63.1 ±14.2 | 0.2 | * | 2.8 | 70.3 ±26.7 | 13.2 | 746.8 ±12.3 | ||||
| 1995-1999 | 16.0 | 63.5 ±14.4 | 0.2 | * | 3.2 | 80.2 ±25.0 | 12.6 | 720.2 ±12.6 | ||||
|
Note: The manner
in which underlying cause of death is coded and classified was
revised in 1999 to reflect changing medical opinion and practice.
The comparability between classification schemes for this particular
cause of death is high (1.01), meaning that the change should have
little or no impact on the comparisons of mortality statistics over
time.
|
||||||||||||
How is the State of Michigan doing?
In 2000, there were 2,612 deaths due to diabetes, and an additional 5,361 deaths in which diabetes was a contributing factor for a total of 7,973 diabetes related deaths to Michigan residents. The age-adjusted rate for diabetes related deaths was 82.9 per 100,000 population in Michigan and 63.9 for Dickinson/Iron Counties. Diabetes related death rates have been relatively stable during the past 10 years for Michigan, but decreasing in Dickinson/Iron Counties.
How do Michigan and Dickinson and Iron Counties compare with the U.S.?
Michigan's 2000age-adjusted rate for diabetes deaths of 26.5 (not including diabetes related deaths)
was higher than the U.S. rate of 13.5, but lower than the 47.8 of Dickinson/Iron Counties. Diabetes was
the seventh leading cause of all deaths in the U.S. and the ninth leading cause of YPLL in 1997.
Source: Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, MDCH
How are different populations affected?
Diabetes is more common in older people. In Michigan, 80 percent of diabetes related deaths occurred to individuals aged 65 or older in 2000.
Diabetes is also more common among African-Americans compared to whites. In 2000, the age-adjusted diabetes related death rates for Michigan's African-American men and women were 38.9 and 38.6 respectively, compared with 29.5 and 22.8 for whites.
What other information is important to know?
There are three types of diabetes usually developing from reduced or no production of insulin: type 1, type 2, and gestational. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and is the most severe form. Type 1 diabetes develops most often in children and young adults, but can appear at any age. Symptoms include excessive thirst and urination, constant hunger, weight loss, blurred vision, and fatigue. It is usually diagnosed in a hospital emergency room visit or a special visit to a physician.
The most common form is type 2 diabetes and is usually associated with the inability of cells to use insulin. It usually has a gradual onset and occurs mainly in people over the age of 40, many of whom are overweight. Symptoms are not as noticeable as in type 1. It is usually diagnosed in a routine physical exam.
Gestational diabetes develops or is discovered during pregnancy. It generally disappears when the pregnancy is over, but women who have had gestational diabetes are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
What are the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department and the Michigan Department of Community Health doing to affect this indicator?
The departments are actively working to decrease the prevalence and impact of diabetes, improve the availability and delivery of vision screening and increase flu and pneumococcal disease vaccinations for persons with diabetes. The Upper Peninsula Diabetes Outreach Networks (UPDON) use a variety of initiatives to change provider care and consumer behavior in order to reduce morbidity and mortality. UPDON can be reached at (906) 228-9203. Several managed care and community health center efforts have been initiated to improve the quality of care and education provided to persons with diabetes. The departments will collaborate in the implementation of the National Diabetes Education Program. The Dickinson-Iron District Health Department through the Michigan Department of Community Health, benefits from collaboration with the University of Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center, the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, the American Diabetes Association serving Michigan, the Michigan Association of Health Plans and numerous other organizations.