Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - A new report finds one in ten upstate New Yorkers has been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and annual treatment costs are estimated to be $2.5 billion.
The report by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield says more than 377,000 upstate adults have been diagnosed, which is 81,000 more than just five years ago.
According to the Excellus BlueCross BlueShield report, 9.8 percent of upstate New York adults have been diagnosed with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, up from 8.2 percent in 2003.
In Central New York, more than 77,000 adults - 9.3 percent of the adult population - have been diagnosed with diabetes.
The study blames an aging population and the rise in obesity as the primary reasons for the increase in prevalence of diabetes.
The percentage of upstate New York adults who are overweight or obese, as classified by their body mass index, is 63 percent; up from 55 percent in 2003.
The report says for those living with the diabetes, average medical expenditures are about 2.3 times higher than what they would be without diabetes.
