Amid soaring cases of diabetes, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is recognizing November as National Diabetes Month by attempting to raise awareness about the risks associated with the disease.

As per available data, 1 in every 11 adults living in Branch, Hillsdale and St. Joseph Counties is in the grip of diabetes, i.e. nearly 7,750 adults. Another 20,000 adults in the region are at-risk of developing Type-2 diabetes.

Rebecca Burns, health officer for the tri-counties’ health agency told people that more than five dozen people living in the region died from diabetes, making it the seventh biggest cause of death.

Bringing awareness to the risks associated with the disease, Burns said, “In 2014, 64 people living in the tri-counties died from diabetes, making it the seventh leading cause of death for the health jurisdiction. Yet, Type 2 Diabetes is seen as a disease that mostly can be prevented.”

She added that diabetes is the leading cause of severe health issues like kidney failure, adult-onset blindness and lower-limb amputations. The American Diabetes Association estimated that a person diagnosed with the disease has to spend, on average, nearly $7,900 per annum just for their diabetes care.

Diabetes is actually a group of diseases that result in high blood glucose or too much sugar in the blood. Most common types include Type 1, which is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin; Type 2, a chronic condition that mainly affects the way the body processes blood glucose; and Gestational diabetes, a form of high blood glucose affecting pregnant women.