Walgreens Take Care Clinics are offering free screening for diabetes through the end of February.
The public is welcome to the cost-free blood glucose testing daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from noon to 4 p.m. on weekends. Patients who are tested and who show signs of risk will be encouraged to follow up with their primary care provider.
Diabetes is the fastest-growing disease in the U.S. In addition to the nearly 24 million people living with diabetes, an estimated 6 million Americans are unaware that they have the disease.
Arizona, with 10.4 cases of new diagnosed diabetes per 1,000 adults, is one of the 10 states with the highest diabetes incidence among adults. The national average is nine new cases per 1,000.
Southern Arizona has a high number of people in three at-risk populations for diabetes — seniors, Hispanics and American Indians.
The rate of new cases of diagnosed diabetes in the United States rose by more than 90 percent among adults over the last 10 years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
