The Warren County Health Department issued a health warning for diabetes.Diabetes is one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States and it has risk factors linked to cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 killer in the United States. Every year, 1.5 million people are diagnosed with diabetes.According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2015, 30.3 million Americans were living with diabetes. Of that 30.3 million people with diabetes, 23.1 million were diagnosed and 7.2 million who were undiagnosed. Also in 2015, 84.1 million adults had prediabetes, a stage where people have numbers teetering near a diagnosis.The Warren County Health Department reported that in 2015 with a diabetes population of 11.5 percent, Missouri ranked No. 10 in the nation for states with the highest rate of people with diabetes. That ties with Delaware and New Mexico.People with diabetes need routine care at least twice a year. To keep symptoms away, they should take medications as directed, manage stress, make exercise a routine, and keep a diet that is low in calories, sugar, salt, saturated and trans fat.There are three main types of diabetes. Type 1 is when the body does not produce insulin. Insulin takes sugar from the foods that are eaten and turns it into energy. People with Type 1 need to take insulin on a daily basis. Type 2 is when the body doesn’t produce or use insulin well. Individuals with Type 2 may be able to control their sugar levels with diet and exercise or may need to take pills or insulin.Finally, some women may get gestational diabetes while they are pregnant. Usually, this diabetes will go away once the baby is born. However, these women and their babies are at a greater risk of developing diabetes later on in life.Of the three types of diabetes, Type 2 is the most common. Many times, the symptoms for Type 2 diabetes are so mild that the person doesn’t notice them at first.As the disease progresses, symptoms include excessive thirst, hunger, frequent urination, fatigue, blurry vision, cuts that are slow to heal and bruises and tingling or numbness in the hands or feet.Anyone with these symptoms, or anyone who has risk factors, should be tested.For more information call Warren County Health Department at 636-456-7474 or visit www.warrencountyhealth.com.Diabetes