Diabetes rates rise 18.6% in US, highlighting racial and economic disparities

study: Geographic disparities in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and associated risk factors in the United StatesImage credit: Proxima Studio / Shutterstock.com

In a recently published study, Diabetes, Obesity, and MetabolismResearchers will assess national trends and disparities in diabetes prevalence among U.S. adults.

The Cost of Diabetes

Current estimates are that approximately 96 million adults in the United States have prediabetes and 37 million have been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2022, the total cost of diabetes, including direct and indirect medical costs and lost wages and work, was $413 billion. Researchers project that by 2030, the cost of diabetes in the United States will reach $622 billion.

This is due to various factors such as sedentary lifestyle, age, and obesity. Increases risk of diabetesTherefore, understanding risk factors, trends, and disparities in diabetes prevalence is essential to develop effective management and prevention strategies.

About the Research

In this study, researchers examined recent trends and disparities in diabetes prevalence among adults living in the U.S. Data were obtained from an ongoing behavioral risk factor surveillance system that included interviews with more than 400,000 adults.

The study recorded more than 5.31 million observations between 2012 and 2022. Diabetes was self-reported through a standardized questionnaire.

Socio-demographic factors such as age, race, sex, education, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity level were used to establish diabetes risk indicators. Age was standardized based on the 2010 US Census and divided into three age groups: 18-44 years, 45-64 years, and 65 years or older.

Age-standardized diabetes prevalence was estimated overall and by sociodemographic group. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between risk factors and diabetes.

Research findings

Overall, diabetes prevalence increased by 18.6% during the study period, and this was evident across sociodemographic groups, although there were also significant differences in diabetes risk across racial and ethnic groups.

For example, non-Hispanic blacks have the highest prevalence of diabetes at about 16%. Additionally, Hispanics, non-Hispanic Asians, and non-Hispanic blacks are 1.6 times, 1.67 times, and 2.1 times more likely, respectively, to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.

The prevalence of diabetes is also 23.8% higher in those aged 65 and over, indicating that aging plays a major role in the development of diabetes. Adults aged 45-64 and 65 and over are 5.1 and 10.2 times more likely to develop diabetes than those aged 18-24, respectively.

Gender differences in diabetes risk are also evident, with men 1.15 times more likely to develop diabetes than women.

Overweight and obese people had a 1.57 and 3.64 times higher risk of developing diabetes, respectively, compared to people of normal weight. Furthermore, people who were more physically active had a lower incidence of diabetes than those who were less physically active, with regular exercise reducing the risk of diabetes by 32%.

The prevalence of diabetes in low-income groups was 56% higher than in high-income groups. The prevalence of diabetes in obese people was 19.23%. Furthermore, people with a college education and high-income groups were 24% and 41% less likely to have diabetes, respectively.

Midwestern and Southern states reported increases in diabetes prevalence ranging from 9.2% to 12.8%, with states such as Arkansas, Nebraska and Kentucky seeing the highest increases.

Notable limitations of the current study include the lack of clinical data and bias due to self-reported diagnoses.

Conclusion

Current studies have demonstrated that diabetes prevalence will increase significantly between 2012 and 2022 in the United States, which is consistent with the rate of diabetes increase reported over previous decades.

The persistently high and rapidly increasing incidence of diabetes highlights the importance of addressing the risks associated with developing the disease and the prevalence of disparities that exist among sociodemographic groups. Increasing access to care, addressing social determinants, and implementing prevention programs targeted at high-risk groups may help mitigate the diabetes epidemic in the United States.

Implementing community-based interventions to promote healthy eating habits, increase physical activity and support weight management can play an important role in reducing the prevalence of diabetes.”