A recent article in the San Antonio Express News by Dr. Thomas Schlenker, former director of the city’s Metropolitan Health District, documents that at least 14.2 percent of adults in Bexar County suffer from diabetes. That percentage translates to over 150,000 people, with another 400,000 or more being “prediabetic”, or at serious risk of developing the disease. In addition to the pain of daily blood tests and insulin injections, Dr. Schlenker reminds us that diabetes takes a human toll in progressive blindness, kidney failure, foot and leg amputations and early death.
There are nearly 2,000 lower-limb amputations in the county each year. At an average of $38,000 per amputation, the total cost amounts to $76 million. Much of this is attributable to diabetes, though early prevention is possible. Read the full text of the article by Dr. Schlenker here.