Some good news to share from Centers for Disease Control & Prevention www.cdc.gov/diabetes/.  Yay for us!

Rates of death from all causes have declined for people with diabetes.

Heart disease and stroke deaths drop significantly for people with diabetes.

Healthier lifestyles, better disease management are helping people live longer.

Death rates for people with diabetes dropped substantially from 1997 to 2006, according to a study published May 22 in the journal Diabetes Care. The study was conducted and reported by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health. Among the most promising findings,

Deaths from all causes declined by 23%.

Deaths related to heart disease and stroke dropped by 40%.

Although an adult with diabetes is likely to die at a younger age than one who does not have diabetes, the difference is getting smaller.

These findings parallel other surveillance reports showing improved medical treatment for cardiovascular disease, better management of diabetes, and some healthy lifestyle changes contributed to the decline. On average, people with diabetes were less likely to smoke and more likely to be physically active than in the past. Better control of high blood pressure and high cholesterol also may have contributed to improved health. However, obesity levels among people with diabetes continued to increase.