There are two major types of diabetes:juvenile (insulin dependent or Type 1) diabetes and maturity-onset (non-insulin-dependent or Type 11) diabetes. Juvenile diabetes, the more severe form of disease, can appear at any age, though it is most commonly diagnosed from infancy to the late thirties. People with juvenile diabetes must take daily insulin injections to stay alive. Maturity-onset diabetes usually begins in the middle of later years. treatment typically involves dietary and weight control, although oral medication or insulin may be required in some cases.

Approximately 12 million Americans suffer from diabetes. Worldwide it is estimated that there are between 100 and 150 million people with diabetes.

Diabetes with its complications is a leading cause of death by disease in America. An estimated 200,000 people will die from diabetes and its complications this year.

Diabetes often leads to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, gangrene and nerve damage. People with diabetes are twice as likely to die of heart disease. the incidence of stroke is two to six times higher in people with diabetes.

Kidney disease is 500 times more prevalent in people with diabetes. thirty percent of all dialysis patients have diabetes-caused kidney failure at an annual cost of $750 million in state and federal aid.

Blindness changes the lives of 6,000 people each year as a result of diabetes. Damage to the blood vessels in the retina 15 years or longer. Diabetes is the leading cause of new adul blindness in the Unites States, costing over $75 million annually in federal and state aid.

Amputations as a result of diabetes are performed on over 50,000 people each year. The likelihood of an amputation is 15 times greater for people with diabetes.

The comprehensive U.S. national cost of diabetes-including hospital, nursing home and physician care, laboratory tests, pharmaceutical products, and patient workdays lost because of disability and premature death-totals over $20billion each year.

The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International was founded in 1970 by parents of diabetic children who were convinced that, through research, diabetes could be cured. They were and still are, determined to make that cure happen in their children's lifetime.

Today the nucleus of dedicated families has grown. The Juvenile Diabetes foundation International is now a voluntary health agency with membership in the tens of thousands, chapters from coast to coast, and affiliates in ten countries around the world. This year, JDF International has awarded over $14 million to diabetes research, bringing its cumulative dollar commitment to more than $73 million. The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International gives more money direct to diabetes research than any other non-governmental health agency in the world.