Pervasiveness of Diabetes Soars in the United States

The median age-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has risen sharply in the United States and its territories since 1995, according to a new report.

Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA) examined data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), collected from 1995 to 2010, for all 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and Puerto Rico. The researchers found that prevalence of diabetes rose during that period from 4.5% to 8.2%; in fact, it increased a full percentage point just in the last 5 years of the study period, from 2005, when the median age-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed diabetes stood at 7.2%.

In 2010, an estimated 18.8 million persons in the United States had diagnosed diabetes mellitus and another 7 million had undiagnosed diabetes. Prevalence was highest among states in the South (9.8%) followed by those in the Midwest (7.5%), the Northeast (7.3%), and the West (7.3%). For individual states, prevalence was highest (above 10%) in Alabama, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia, and was lowest (below 7%) in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Vermont, and Wyoming.

In 1995, for comparison, age-adjusted prevalence was over 6% in only three states, in DC, and Puerto Rico, but by 2010 it was higher than 6% in every single state and higher than 10% in six states and Puerto Rico. During 1995–2010, the relative increase in age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes ranged from 8.5% in Puerto Rico to 226.7% in Oklahoma, with an overall median increase of 82.2%. The age-adjusted prevalence increased by over 50% in 42 states and by over 100% in 18 states. The report was published in the November 16, 2012, issue of Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.

“The 15-year upward trend coincides with the increase in obesity prevalence across the US, and is likely the result of improved survival of persons with diabetes and increasing diabetes incidence,” concluded lead author Linda Geiss, MA, and colleagues. “Strategies to prevent diabetes and its preventable risk factors are needed, especially for those at highest risk for diabetes, to slow the rise in diabetes prevalence across the United States.”

According to the report, the high prevalence in the South and Appalachian regions were probably due to the greater prevalence of risk factors for diabetes in these areas, such as obesity and sedentary lifestyle. Also, these locations have a larger proportion of African Americans, a group at increased risk for the disease, as well as other factors that contribute to poor nutrition and unhealthy lifestyles.

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US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention