Between 2012 and 2022 the rate of type 2 diabetes has increased by close to 20% according to a study recently published in Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism from the University of Georgia. While the study found an increase among all sociodemographic groups, non-Hispanic Black people were affected hard, with just under 16% of this group of participants being diagnosed.
Prevalence
1 in 5 of those aged 65 years or older had the condition, and the same group was over 10 times as likely to be diagnosed than those in the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket. Additionally, those between the ages of 45 to 64 years old were over 5 times as likely to receive a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
Those with lower incomes were found to have a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes than their higher-income counterparts, and those with higher incomes were 41% less likely to be diagnosed with the condition. Education was found to also be a factor, as those with a college education were 24% less likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
“Diabetes is increasing day by day in the U.S., and it will increase even more in the coming years,” said Sulakshan Neupane, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Diabetes costs around $412 billion, including medical costs and indirect costs like loss of productivity. That’s a huge amount, and it’s only going to increase as more people are diagnosed with the disease.”
Particularly vulnerable States
Relying on data from the nationally representative Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which is an ongoing health survey of more than 400,000 people, and a paper in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine which emphasized the economic burden of type 2 diabetes and the increased prevalence of the condition over the same study period as the current paper, the team found regional differences in diabetes prevalence as well.
Between 2012 and 2022 the South and Midwest reported the highest increases, with large jumps in the number of people with type 2 diabetes occurring in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Nebraska. Overall, 10 states experienced increases of over 25% or more during the decade: Arkansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas, Alabama, Minnesota, Illinois, West Virginia, Delaware, and Massachusetts.
“In these areas, people are at higher risk of developing diabetes, so policymakers and public health officials need to focus on these regions,” Neupane said.
Being overweight makes you more likely to develop the condition
Being overweight or obese appears to increase the risk, as this group of people was found to be more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes; with 1 in 5 obese participants having diabetes, and 1 in 10 overweight participants having the condition in 2022.
However, being physically active seemed to help protect against diabetes to a certain extent, with those who were physically active having a less than 10% prevalence compared to those who were inactive facing a rate closer to 10%.
“Identifying these risk factors and acting to mitigate them is key,” Neupane said. “Be more active. Pay more attention to your physical health. Some risk factors like age and race cannot be modified, but you can do something to lower risk of diabetes, like, healthy eating, maintaining an active lifestyle and losing weight.”
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
https://news.uga.edu/type-2-diabetes-increased-by-almost-20/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dom.15797
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2024.04.010
https://worldhealth.net/news/vicious-twins-hypertension-and-obesity-america/
https://worldhealth.net/news/most-obeseoverweight-american-cities/
https://worldhealth.net/news/diabetes-rates-increasing-waistlines-grow/
https://worldhealth.net/news/type-2-diabetes-can-be-prevented-with-diet-and-exercise/
