Oregon Public Broadcasting

Multnomah County shows a whopping increase in diabetes deaths, according to numbers released Monday. April Baer reports that for the last several years, diabetes in the County has outstripped the national average.

Health officials knew that obesity was a problem in Multnomah County, but the diabetes that sometimes follows obesity is now the 6th leading cause of death in the county.

Lillian Shirley is the head of the County Health Department.  She says there's no one clear factor accounting for the fifteen percent increase in deaths from diabetes.

Lillian Shirley:  "If I could answer that conclusively, I could rest easier at night. The fact is there are a number of factors involved."

Shirley says obesity rates must be addressed. Those who suffer from diabetes, she says, need better access to healthy food and medicine. Some don't get enough exercise.

The study covered two four-year blocks -- in the mid 90s, and early 2000s.