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Programs & Services  - HHS

HHS administers more than 100 programs across its operating divisions. HHS programs protect the health of all Americans and provide essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

​What is Diabetes?
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With diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use it as well as it should.

Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy.
Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar (also called glucose) and released into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy.
If you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes as well as it should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, that can

cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.

There isn’t a cure yet for diabetes, but losing weight, eating healthy food, and being active can really help. Taking medicine as needed, getting diabetes self-management education and support, and keeping health care appointments can also reduce the impact of diabetes on your life.

Diabetes by the Numbers

• 34.2 million US adults have diabetes, and 1 in 5 of them don’t know they have it.
• Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.
• Diabetes is the No. 1 cause of kidney failure, lower-limb amputations, and adult blindness.
• In the last 20 years, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled.

​Types of DiabetesThere are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes
 (diabetes while pregnant).
Type 1 DiabetesType 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake) that stops your body from making insulin. Approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes often develop quickly. It’s usually diagnosed in children, teens, and young adults. If you have type 1 diabetes, you’ll need to take insulin every day to survive. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 DiabetesWith type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in

children, teens, and young adults). You may not notice any symptoms, so it’s important to get your blood sugar tested if you’re at 

risk

. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, eating healthy food, and being active.
Gestational DiabetesGestational diabetes develops in pregnant women who have never had diabetes. If you have gestational diabetes, your baby could be at higher risk for health problems. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after your baby is born but increases your risk for type 2 diabetes later in life. Your baby is more likely to have obesity as a child or teen, and more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life too.
​

media iconLow Resolution VideoPrediabetesIn the United States, 88 million adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. What’s more, more than 84% of them don’t know they have it. With prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes raises your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The

good news is if you have prediabetes, a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program can help you take healthy steps to reverse it

Heart Diseases​
More than 868,000 Americans die of heart disease, stroke, or other cardiovascular diseases every year—that’s one-third of all US deaths. These diseases also take an economic toll, costing $214 billion a year to our health care system and causing $138 billion in lost productivity from premature death alone.

CDC supports programs that help millions of Americans control their high blood pressure and reduce other risk factors. These efforts have helped lower death rates from heart disease and stroke, which are the first and fifth leading causes of death in the United States.

Risk Factors and CDC's Response

The Nation’s Risk Factors and CDC’s Response 

Leading risk factors for heart disease and stroke are high blood pressure, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, diabetes, smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, obesity, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity.

RISK FACTOR

High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol 

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke because it damages the lining of the arteries, making them more susceptible to the buildup of plaque, which narrows the arteries leading to the heart and brain. About 108 million US adults (1 in 3) have high blood pressure. Only about half (48%) of these people have their high blood pressure under control. About 7 in 10 people who have a first heart attack and 8 in 10 people who have a first stroke have high blood pressure.

Eating too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure. Americans aged 2 years or older consume an average of about 3,400 mg of sodium each day, well over the 2,300 mg recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. More than 70% of the sodium Americans consume is added outside the home (before purchase), not added as salt at the table or during home cooking.

High LDL cholesterol can also double a person’s risk of heart disease. That’s because excess cholesterol can build up in the walls of arteries and limit blood flow to a person’s heart, brain, kidneys, other organs, and legs. Although nearly 86 million US adults could benefit from taking medicine to manage their high LDL cholesterol, only about half (55%) are doing so.
People can improve their blood pressure and cholesterol levels by eating a healthy diet that is low in sodium, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking medications as recommended.

CDC’s Response

CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) works with partners across government, public health, health care, and private sectors to improve prevention, detection, and control of heart disease and stroke risk factors, with a focus on high blood pressure and high cholesterol. DHDSP also works to improve recognition of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke and the quality of care following these events.

Through its scientific and programmatic investments, DHDSP advances strategies such as using electronic health records to identify patients at risk and treat them appropriately and caring for patients with teams of clinicians, pharmacists, community health workers, and others outside of the doctor’s office. The division also promotes strategies that link patients to community programs and resources that help them take their medicines consistently, manage their risk factors, and make healthy lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking or losing weight.

The following major programs support the division’s goals:

RISK FACTORDiabetesAdults with diabetes are 2 to 3 times as likely to die of heart disease or have a stroke as people who do not have diabetes. Over time, high blood sugar from diabetes can damage blood vessels in the heart, and it can block blood vessels leading to the brain, causing a stroke. Nearly 3 in 4 people with diabetes have high blood pressure. Diabetes also raises LDL cholesterol.

CDC’s Response

CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation is at the leading edge of the nation’s efforts to end the devastation of diabetes. The division works with federal, state, and community organizations to prevent type 2 diabetes and improve the health of all people with diabetes.

The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program delivers an evidence-based lifestyle change program to help adults with prediabetes prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. In 2016, CDC and the American Diabetes Association, the American Medical Association, and the Ad Council launched the first national prediabetes awareness campaign to encourage people to find out their

risk by taking a 1-minute test at DoIHavePrediabetes.orgexternal icon.

CDC also works to increase access to diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) services to help people manage their diabetes. DSMES reduces the cost of diabetes on the US health care system.

These activities support CDC’s overall efforts to reduce death rates from heart disease and stroke by preventing and controlling risk factors.

RISK FACTOR

Smoking and Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Smoking is a major cause of heart disease and stroke and causes 1 in every 4 deaths from these conditions. Smoking can damage the body several ways by:

About 34 million US adults smoke cigarettes, and every day, about 1,600 young people under age 18 try their first cigarette.

CDC’s Response

CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health is at the forefront of the nation’s efforts to reduce deaths and prevent chronic diseases—including heart disease and stroke—that result from smoking. CDC and its partners promote efforts to prevent young people from starting to smoke, create smokefree worksites and public spaces, help smokers quit, and reduce health disparities for groups with higher rates of chronic diseases caused by smoking.

CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®) campaign, the first federally funded tobacco education campaign, focuses on motivating US adults who smoke to try to quit. Tips features real people—not actors—who are living with serious health conditions caused by smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. It connects people who smoke with resources to help them quit, including 1-800-QUIT-NOW, which directs people to free services from their state quit lines.

​RISK FACTOR

Obesity, Unhealthy Diet, and Physical Inactivity

People who are overweight or have obesity, compared to those at a normal weight, are at increased risk of heart disease and stroke and their risk factors, including high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, and type 2 diabetes. In the United States, 72% of adults are overweight or have obesity.

Having a healthy diet can reduce a person’s chances of getting heart disease. A healthy diet emphasizes fruits and vegetables,