Almost 475,000 Kentuckians or 14% of the adult population have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Another 101,000 Kentuckians have diabetes but don’t know it, greatly increasing their health risk, according to the American Diabetes Association.?

On Saturday, April 29, a free Diabetes Expo in Lexington will offer information about how to prevent and manage the disease and its complications which include heart disease, stroke, amputation, end-stage kidney disease, blindness and death.

The event — from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1140 Harry Sykes Way (the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension office)— will feature more than 25 vendors with cooking demonstrations, primary care and education services, vision screenings, Q&A with experts, free vaccines and more, according to a release from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.

Admission is free, but there will be a prize drawing for those who pre-register by calling 859-257-5582.

Kentucky ranks eighth among the states for diabetes prevalence and in 2017 had the nation’s fifth-highest death rate due to diabetes.?

An estimated 1 in 3 adult Kentuckians have prediabetes, meaning their blood sugar levels are higher than normal and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.