Study Finds Diabetes Epidemic Worsening

[admin]

A new study that includes more accurate testing indicates the diabetes epidemic in the U.S. is getting worse.

According to the National Institutes for Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 13 percent of adults age 20 and older have diabetes in the U.S., but 40 percent of them have not yet been diagnosed. An additional 30 percent of adults have pre-diabetes, a condition marked by elevated blood sugar that is not yet in the diabetic range.

These findings are the result of a new study that includes data taken from people who were given a two-hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). The OGTT gives more information about blood glucose abnormalities than the usual fasting blood glucose (FBG) test, according to the NIH. The addition of the new and more accurate test results is giving a better idea of the true state of the diabetes and pre-diabetes epidemic in the U.S.

“We’re facing a diabetes epidemic that shows no signs of abating, judging from the number of individuals with pre-diabetes,” said lead author Catherine Cowie, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), a part of the NIH.

An estimated 54 million adults in the U.S. have pre-diabetes, a condition that carries the risk of cardiovascular disease and, without intervention, can develop into full blown diabetes in as little as 10 years.

The NIH study, which surveyed 7,267 people ages 12 and older, found that while diabetes is still rare in youth ages 12 to 19, about 16 percent of those surveyed had pre-diabetes.

It also found that minority groups are disproportionately affected by the disease, with the prevalence among blacks and Mexican-Americans about 70 to 80 percent higher than non-Hispanic whites. Full-blown diabetes affects men and women equally, but pre-diabetes is more common in men.

“These findings have grave implications for our health-care system, which is already struggling to provide care for millions of diabetes patients, many of whom belong to vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or minorities,” said Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., director of the NIDDK. “Of paramount importance is the need to curb the obesity epidemic, which is the main factor driving the rise in Type-2 diabetes.”

“It’s important to know if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, because there’s so much you can do to preserve your health,” said Joanne Gallivan, M.S., R.D., director of the National Diabetes Education Program for the NIH. “ If your blood glucose is high but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, losing a modest amount of weight and increasing physical activity will greatly lower your risk of getting type two diabetes. If you already have diabetes, controlling your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol will prevent or delay the complications of diabetes.”