Learning how to prevent diabetes, or taking maximum control once it is diagnosed, was the focus of Saint Anne's Hospital’s ninth annual “Decoding Diabetes” health fair held on June 23, 2011 at the Venus de Milo in Swansea . Sponsored by the Caritas Diabetes Center at Saint Anne’s Hospital, the popular annual fair was designed to help both children and adults “decode” the disease by understanding how they can prevent or manage it. Rose Marie Couto, RN, CDE, certified diabetes educator at Saint Anne’s, notes that attendance at the annual fair has grown every year, with residents from throughout the region taking advantage of free information, samples and products, plus valuable one-on-one conversations with diabetes experts. “Attendance at this fair has been robust, due in large part to the incidence of diabetes in Bristol County and especially in the Fall River-New Bedford area,” said Couto. According to the Mass. Dept. of Public Health, Couto said, the number of people in the Fall River-New Bedford area who have been told they have diabetes is 11.3 percent, vs. 7.4 percent statewide. Likewise, those who have been told they have pre-diabetes, or fasting blood glucose readings above the normal range of 100 mg but below the diabetes threshold of 126 mg, is 7 percent, vs. 5.4 percent statewide. There may in fact be many more who have not yet been diagnosed with either condition, she said.  Yet, despite these statistics, there is plenty of good news about preventing or managing diabetes, said Couto. Click here for photos of the 2010 event and here to see a video. For more information about the event, call the Saint Anne’s Public Relations office at 508-235-5056.