"The Endocrine Society represents over 11,000 physicians in clinical practice who are engaged in the treatment of endocrine disorders, such as diabetes, hypertension, infertility, obesity, osteoporosis, endocrine cancers (i.e., thyroid, adrenal, ovarian, pituitary) and thyroid disease. Many of these conditions are chronic and costly to the Medicare system. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 37.3 million Americans have diabetes and about one in five people with diabetes do not know that they have it. Additionally, those living with diagnosed diabetes also have other chronic co-morbidities: 69% have high blood pressure, 44% have high cholesterol, and 39% have chronic kidney disease. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and costs a total estimated $327 billion in medical costs and lost work and wages."
