Center for Population Health

Diabetes is a disease that affects how food is broken down into sugar (glucose) and released into the bloodstream. When too much blood sugar stays in the bloodstream, over time it can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation of toes, feet or legs. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.

The SIM Test grant tracked statewide diabetes rates as a population health measure. The plan for improving population health utilized and was built upon Connecticut Department of Public Health’s recent State Health Assessment, State Health Improvement Plan (Healthy Connecticut 2020), and their Chronic Disease Prevention Plan.

In the years prior to the CT SIM implementation, the percentage of CT residents with diabetes increased steadily. In 2013, 8.3% of adults reported that they had been told they had diabetes and by 2015 the number increased to 9.3%. In 2018, the latest data available during the CT SIM implementation, the percentage was 9.7%, which is 0.1% less than reported in 2017, but is still above the SIM target of 9.1%.

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Information Sources

• Division of Diabetes Translation at a Glance (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)
• National Vital Statistics Reports