Recently a close friend told me she suspected she had type 2 diabetes. My first thought was, "No you don’t! You’re too young and healthy to be diabetic." I was hoping her concerns were a misguided attempt to self-diagnose her constant tiredness. After finally seeing her doctor, she found out she wasn’t diabetic, but definitely needed some rest. Her diabetes scare got me thinking about how much I really know about diabetes. Very little. And, it turns out, I’m not alone—many Americans don’t know much about diabetes, according to a new Consumer Reports National Research Center survey. Overall, the survey found that people were more than twice as likely to know their blood pressure as their blood sugar level.

Based on gender, my friend might have had an advantage over men in getting preventative care and treatment for diabetes. According to the survey, women are more likely to report they talk with a doctor about vital health statistics for blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Still, both genders revealed confusion when it came to recognizing the risk factors, symptoms, and complications related to type 2 diabetes.