The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan is recognizing November as National Diabetes Month to help educate people about diabetes, help those at risk to get checked and take action, and help those who have diabetes to manage it.
In observance of Diabetes Month, the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan is urging everyone to learn their risk factors for diabetes. Visit our Diabetes page to learn more.
Click here to read our Diabetes Month Press Release.

Quick Links
Click LEARN MORE in the boxes below for more information on Kidney Month!
Programs
Diabetes Prevention Program

If you’re at risk of type 2 diabetes, the DPP's small group setting, along with a trained and passionate coach, helps you make sustained, healthy lifestyle changes.
PATH

PATH helps people better manage their long-term health conditions by learning strategies to deal with pain, fatigue, difficult emotions, and more.
Diabetes Improvement Program

The Diabetes Improvement Program will help you take steps to live a healthier lifestyle in a group setting.
Resources
The NKFM would love you to share the celebration of World Diabetes Day and National Diabetes Month with your friends and family. Please feel free to use any of the infographics or messages on your social media channels and don’t forget to tag @KidneyMI or use the hashtags: #DiabetesMonth, #WDD, or #WorldDiabetesDay.
NKFM Social Media Accounts:
Facebook: facebook.com/KidneyMI
YouTube: youtube.com/KidneyMI
Instagram: instagram.com/KidneyMI
Twitter: twitter.com/KidneyMI
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/kidneymi
Facts
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the body is either no longer making a hormone called insulin or the insulin that is made is not working as it should. Either way, high amounts of glucose (a form of sugar) build in the bloodstream and cause problems from damage to the eyes, kidneys, blood vessels, and nerves. For this reason, diabetes is the primary cause of new cases of adult blindness, kidney failure, and non-traumatic lower-limb amputation. Over a million Michigan adults have diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.
Risk Factors
- Lack of exercise
- Overweight/Obesity
- Family history of type 2 diabetes
- Unhealthy eating
- History of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy)
- Race/Ethnicity – African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes.
Michigan
- In 2016, one in 10 Michigan adults 18 years and older were diagnosed with diabetes – 870,000 people.
- Of these, an estimated 259,000 have diabetes but don’t know it, greatly increasing their health risk.
- In addition, 2,741,000 people in Michigan, 37% of the adult population, have prediabetes with blood glucose levels higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
- In 2016, diabetes was ranked the seventh leading cause of death in Michigan.
- Every year an estimated 57,000 people in Michigan are diagnosed with diabetes.
- Diabetes causes 44% of kidney failure cases in Michigan.
- 70% of kidney failure caused by diabetes and/or high blood pressure could have been prevented or delayed.
- Diabetes costs an estimated $10.5 billion in Michigan each year. Serious complications include heart disease, stroke, amputation, end-stage kidney disease, blindness and death.
Nationwide
- 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes each year.
- Approximately 30 million children and adults have diabetes in the United States. Out of that number, nearly 95% have type 2 diabetes.
- An estimated 1 in 11 Americans have diabetes.
- One in three kids born in 2000 will develop diabetes.
- African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans are at increased risk for developing chronic kidney disease from diabetes, therefore good blood sugar control and overall diabetes management is extremely important.