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(NAPSI) – Diabetes kills more Americans each year than AIDS and bad cancer combined – and can cause serious problems throughout the body. According to the National Eye Institute, eye health, for example, can be seriously compromised.
About 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4% of the population, live with diabetes and about 1.5 million more are diagnosed each year. The longer a person has diabetes, the more likely they are to develop diabetic retinopathy or damage to the retinal blood vessels. According to the National Eye Institute, between 40 and 45% of people diagnosed with diabetes have a degree of diabetic retinopathy.
Although overweight and maintaining a sedentary lifestyle are certainly related to diabetes, social and environmental factors such as poverty, stress, lack of safe housing and access to healthy eating can also compromise your health and ultimately contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. According to US health insurance plans, addressing these social determinants of health has become a top priority for Medicaid programs.
"We encourage our members with diabetes to undergo regular eye exams to eliminate complications," said Dr. Andrea Gelzer, vice president of medical affairs at AmeriHealth Caritas, a national leader in Medicaid-managed care. other healthcare solutions to need them. "We educate our members so that they understand that a healthy lifestyle, controlling their blood glucose levels and regular eye exams can help preserve their vision."
Simple steps can help mitigate the effects of diabetes and possibly delay the complications of diabetes-related eye disease, including controlling your blood glucose and blood pressure, monitoring your cholesterol, consulting your doctor regularly, and getting an eye exam. dilated at least once a year – or more if recommended by your eye care professional.
AmeriHealth Caritas is part of the Independence Health Group in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and one of the country's leading healthcare solutions solutions for the poor.
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For more information, visit www.amerihealthcaritas.com.
"Living a healthy lifestyle, controlling blood sugar and regular eye exams can help control diabetes," said Andrea Gelzer of AmeriHealthCaritas. http://bit.ly/2WjEbxJ"
On the net: North American Precis Syndicate, Inc. (NAPSI)
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