CDC estimates a national diabetes prevalence of nearly 16%

In a recent data brief from the National Center for Health Statistics, the CDC analyzed the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes across adults in the United States between August 2021 and August 2013.

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that acts as a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Understanding diabetes prevalence can provide a pulse check on public health and help indicate areas that require more research or innovation.

In this analysis, researchers considered several types of diabetes, including type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

To compose this data brief, the CDC used data from the August 2021-August 2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This cross-sectional study used information from interviews, standardized health examinations and laboratory tests.

For diagnosed diabetes, the analysts considered any individual who responded yes to the following question: "Other than during pregnancy, have you ever been told by a doctor or health professional that you have diabetes or sugar diabetes?"

On the other hand, to identify undiagnosed diabetes rates, they looked at individuals who had never received a diabetes diagnosis but had an "8- to 24-hour fasting plasma glucose greater than or equal to 126 mg/dL or hemoglobin A1c greater than or equal to 6.5%."

Total diabetes prevalence was calculated by combining the two types of diabetes prevalence.

According to the report, the national prevalence of diabetes is roughly 15.8%, with an 11.3% prevalence of diagnosed cases and a 4.5% prevalence of undiagnosed cases.

Beyond looking at the overall diabetes prevalence, the data brief provided evidence of disease prevalence among varying demographics. For example, the report revealed that men in the U.S. had a higher prevalence than women. The total diabetes prevalence among men was 18.0% -- greater than the national prevalence. Meanwhile, the total prevalence among women was only 13.7%.

Among men with diabetes, 12.9% were diagnosed, while 5.1% were undiagnosed. Additionally, 9.7% of women with diabetes were diagnosed, leaving 3.9% undiagnosed.

Although the brief does not provide a detailed breakdown of the different kinds of diabetes, understanding the magnitude of which diabetes impacts different sexes can give insight into targeted health education efforts and public health initiatives.

The data in this brief also underscores that diabetes risk increases with age, as it showed that diabetes prevalence across both categories increased among older individuals.

For instance, the total diabetes prevalence for adults aged 20-39 was 3.6% -- approximately 2.2% diagnosed and 1.3% undiagnosed. Comparatively, the prevalence in the 40-59 age bracket was much higher at 17.7%, with 12.1% diagnosed and 5.6% undiagnosed. Finally, for those in the 60 and older age bracket, diabetes prevalence was 27.3%, comprised of 20.5% diagnosed diabetes cases and 6.8% undiagnosed cases.

The data echoes other insights that point to diabetes risk increases with age. Although diabetes risk might be partially attributed to genetics, lifestyle changes and medications can be used to prevent or delay the onset of the disease, reducing a patient's risk of complications and economic burden.

In addition to understanding how diabetes prevalence changed with varying ages and sexes, the CDC also stratified prevalence weight status and education level.

They found that individuals who were underweight or a normal weight had a lower diabetes prevalence of 6.8%. Comparatively, those in the overweight category had a prevalence of 12.3%, while those in the obesity category were at 24.2%.

Individuals with a college degree had the lowest prevalence of diabetes at 10.7%. Those who had completed some college had a greater prevalence at 17.2%; however, it was not as high as that of individuals with a high school degree, GED or less schooling, with a diabetes prevalence of 19.6%.

Overall, the report provided insight into diabetes prevalence nationally and how diabetes impact varies among different demographic groups.

Veronica Salib has covered news related to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry since 2022.