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Alliance Releases The Silver Book®: Diabetes

Published May 12, 2010

New Resource Highlights the Growing Burden of Diabetes and Value of Medical Innovation

May 12th 2010, WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Alliance for Aging Research released a new volume of The Silver Book®: Chronic Disease and Medical Innovation in an Aging Nation. The latest addition to The Silver Book series focuses on diabetes. The volume was released at a Capitol Hill briefing which featured medical and economic experts and a patient advocate. The briefing was co-sponsored by the American Diabetes Association.

The Silver Book is published by the non-profit Alliance for Aging Research drawing upon over 400 independent studies and reports on chronic disease and prospects for medical innovations to mitigate the burden. The Silver Book currently catalogues over 1,500 statistics that outline a coming “Silver Tsunami” with the aging U.S. population.

Specific insights into diabetes in the latest volume include the following:

  • Approximately one-third of Americans who are first diagnosed with diabetes are diagnosed between ages 65-74.
  • Fifty-seven million adults had pre-diabetes in 2007.
  • Diabetes costs the U.S. over $200 billion a year.
  • Diabetes management programs increase patient compliance and satisfaction with their diabetes care.

Publication of The Silver Book: Diabetes is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Roche Diagnostics.

“Less than a year from now, the Baby Boom generation starts to become the largest Medicare generation in history,” explained Daniel Perry, President & CEO of the Alliance. “Unless we can discover and bring into medical practice better ways to treat, postpone or prevent diabetes, all our efforts to preserve America’s health care and financial security will mean little.”

To encourage national policies to promote investments in innovation, the Alliance for Aging Research launched The Silver Book: Chronic Disease and Medical Innovation in an Aging Nation in 2006. The initial volume focused on cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and neurological diseases and has quickly become a trusted resource for health policy practitioners. Additional volumes have focused on vision loss, osteoporosis, and a more detailed look at neurological diseases.

All of the data are cited with original sources and available online. The online version is a searchable database that is continuously updated as new information is published and that allows users to submit data. Users can also subscribe to the RSS feed.

The new volume on diabetes and the other volumes may be accessed online at www.silverbook.org.

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Founded in 1986, the Alliance for Aging Research is a nonprofit, independent organization dedicated to improving the health and independence of aging Americans through public and private funding of medical research and geriatric education. The Alliance combines the interest of top scientists, public officials, business executives, and foundation leaders to promote a greater national investment in research and new technologies that will prepare our nation for the coming senior boom, and improve the quality of life for today’s older generation.

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