August 29, 2000
Contact:  Jennifer Day, (313) 577-1058, jday@med.wayne.edu

State gives $1.2 million to WSU diabetes center

State legislators have earmarked $1.2 million for Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Morris Hood Jr. Comprehensive Diabetes Center.

Leaders of both the state House and Senate have pledged passage of the appropriations bill when the Legislature returns for the fall session. That bill includes $500,000 for the center. An additional $700,000 has already been included in the Community Mental Health Bill and budget.

“The Hood Diabetes Center is vital resource for the Detroit community and the state of Michigan, which has the fourth-highest incidence of diabetes in the country,” said Thomas Uhde, associate dean for research at the School of Medicine. “By dedicating this funding, the state has not only taken action to improve the lives of people with diabetes and reduce health-care costs, but put Michigan in a position to be a leader in prevention of diabetic complications through population-based genetic investigations and other research.”

The World Health Organization has declared diabetes the No. 1 health hazard of the 21^st century. In Michigan, more than 400,000 citizens have diabetes, and it is estimated that another 200,000 to 400,000 people may have undiagnosed diabetes. The disease costs the state almost $5 billion annually.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of premature death in Michigan and is the leading cause of blindness, renal failure and limb amputation. It is a major contributing factor to hypertension, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Diabetes is 2.5 times more prevalent in African Americans than in Caucasians. Studies have shown that many of the health consequences of diabetes are preventable through early detection and disease management.

The center’s top priorities are to establish outreach programs to screen people with diabetes or those who are at high risk for developing the disease; to maintain and expand existing clinical and basic research programs; and to initiate and develop the population-based investigations into the genetic causes of diabetes and its chronic complications.

In other School of Medicine funding, the Legislature appropriated $3.2 million as part of the Community Mental Health Bill for the psychiatric residency program. The appropriation showed the Legislature’s support for the program had not been diluted.