FRIDAY, Nov. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Only four in 10 diabetic adults in the United States get multiple preventive-care services including regular eye and foot exams that could prevent severe complications such as blindness or an amputation, according to a report in the Nov. 11 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Possible barriers to preventive testing include lack of awareness, inadequate health insurance and other problems, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A CDC analysis of data on 65,441 diabetics from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2002-2004 shows that only 39.5% of diabetic adults get adequate multiple preventive-care services. This ranges from 20.7% in Puerto Rico to 64% in Hawaii.
By 2010, the CDC is aiming that at least 75% of diabetic adults will get annual eye and foot exams and have their glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) measured twice a year.
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