One in nine adult New Yorkers diagnosed with diabetes

Nearly one in nine adult New Yorkers have now been diagnosed with diabetes, an all-time high, according to data released Thursday by the city's Health Department.

According to the Health Department's Community Health Survey, the proportion of adults with diabetes increased by 33 percent, from 8 percent to 10.7 percent between 2002 and 2012, and the proportion increased by 15 percent from 2010 to 2012 alone.

The department estimates that in 2012 there were 667,000 New Yorkers with diabetes, an increase of more than 200,000 since 2002.

"Even more people have diabetes and don't know it. This is a health crisis that is being driven by the city's epidemic of obesity, and like obesity, it is preventable," said Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley.

Diabetes is a complex and chronic disease that is associated with obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol. People with diabetes are at increased risk of heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage, and amputations.

Diabetes is twice as common among obese New Yorkers. In 2011, the number of diabetes-related deaths in New York City was 5,695, a record high. One person dies of diabetes-related causes every 90 minutes in New York City.