WHEREAS, Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects an estimated 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3 percent of the population, on a daily basis; and

 

    WHEREAS, Approximately 3.8 million people in California are living with diabetes, and it is estimated that over one million Californians are undiagnosed; and

 

    WHEREAS, Diabetes costs an estimated $37.1 billion in California each year; and

 

    WHEREAS, Type 1 diabetes, previously called juvenile-onset diabetes, occurs when the body does not produce insulin, a hormone that is necessary to convert sugar, or glucose, into energy; and

 

    WHEREAS, Type 1 diabetes is the third most common autoimmune disease among children; and

 

    WHEREAS, Between 2001 and 2009, there was a 21-percent increase in the prevalence of Type 1 diabetes in people under 20 years of age; and

 

    WHEREAS, Only 5 percent of diabetics have Type 1 diabetes, and it is typically diagnosed in children and young adults; and

 

    WHEREAS, Early diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes is critical to raising awareness and diagnosing and treating this condition effectively; and

 

    WHEREAS, In 2009, among hospital discharges of children and young people 0 to 17 years of age, about 74 percent had diabetes as the fist-listed diagnosis, and of the patients, 64 percent of the diagnoses were for diabetic ketoacidosis; and

 

    WHEREAS, Education concerning Type 1 diabetes is critical to raising awareness and diagnosing and treating this condition effectively; and

 

    WHEREAS, With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, young children and adolescents can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy lives; and

 

    WHEREAS, Since early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment of Type 1 diabetes, health care practitioners can increase the likelihood of early diagnoses by discussing warning signs and symptoms of Type 1 diabetes with parents or guardians at least once a year during well-child visits for infants and children from birth to five years of age; now, therefore, be it

 

    RESOLVED BY SENATOR RICHARD D. ROTH, That he calls the attention of the public to the importance of raising awareness about Type 1 diabetes through education and learning to recognize the warning signs and symptoms of this chronic disease so that it may be diagnosed early in its course and treated effectively.