A Snapshot of Diabetes in 37 Facts

Insights from Lawrence Lloyd, Science 37

This article has been reprinted with permission from Science 37. The original article can be viewed here.

We all have a stake in changing the tide against diabetes. Whether through partnerships, support, advocacy, or research, there are many ways to make an impact. Science 37 has a variety of open research studies on diabetes – both Type 1 and Type 2 – but discovering ways to tackle this condition starts before the clinical research stage. It starts with understanding the current state of diabetes and the true extent of this epidemic. To that end, we’re using the CDC’s National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017 to tell the story of diabetes in the United States in 37 facts. This post will be updated with facts over the next few months, so keep checking back.

The Overall Scope of Diabetes

  1. 30 million people in the United States have diabetes.
  2. About 5% of people with diabetes are estimated to have Type 1 diabetes
  3. In 2014, a total of 52,159 people developed end-stage renal disease with diabetes as the primary cause.
  4. More than 9% of the U.S. population has diabetes
  5. The CDC estimates that 23.8% of all people in the United States with diabetes are undiagnosed.
  6. Type 2 diabetes accounts for up to 95% of all diabetes cases.
  7. Average medical expenditures in 2012 for people with diagnosed diabetes were about $13,700 per year ($7,900 of this amount was attributed to diabetes).
  8. An estimated 23.1 million people – or 7.2% of the U.S. population – have diagnosed diabetes.
  9. The total direct and indirect estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2012 was $245 billion.
  10. After adjusting for age group and sex, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were about 2.3x higher than those for people without diabetes.
  11. Diabetes was listed as a cause of death on 252,806 death certificates in 2015.
  12. Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2015.

Diabetes: A Look at Age

  1. The percentage of adults in the United States with diabetes has increased with age: 25.2% of those aged 65 years or older have diabetes.
  2. In 2015, there were about 1.5 million new cases of diabetes diagnosed among U.S. adults.
  3. In 2015, more than half of the 1.5 million adults diagnosed with diabetes were 45-64 years old.
  4. 132,000 children and adolescents under 18 have been diagnosed with diabetes.
  5. 193,000 people under the age of 20 have been diagnosed with diabetes.
  6. An estimated 33.9% of U.S. adults had prediabetes in 2015, based on their fasting glucose of A1c  level.
  7. In 2015, almost half (48.3%) of U.S. adults 65 or older had prediabetes.
  8. During 2011-2012, an estimated 17,900 people under 20 years old were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes annually.
  9. During 2011-2012, an estimated 5,300 children and adolescents (10-19 years old) were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes annually.

Diabetes: A Look at Risk Factors

  1. Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among adults by education level:
    1. Less than a high school education: 12.6%
    2. High school education: 9.5%
    3. More than high school education: 7.2%
  2. Of the adults diagnosed with diabetes in 2011-2014, 87.5% were overweight or obese.
  3. Of the adults diagnosed with diabetes in 2011-2014, 15.9% were current smokers.
  4. Counties in the southern and Appalachian regions of the United States tended to have the highest prevalence of diagnosed diabetes.
  5. Nearly 35% of adults diagnosed with diabetes in 2011-2014 had a history of smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.
  6. According to risk factor data (2011-2014), 40.8% of adults diagnosed with diabetes were physically inactive (less than 10 min of moderate or vigorous physical activity per week for work, leisure, and transportation).
  7. A further look at risk factor data (2011-2014), shows that 73.6% of adults diagnosed with diabetes had high blood pressure.
  8. Looking at A1c levels in risk factor data (2011-2014), 15.6% of adults diagnosed with diabetes had an A1c higher than 9%.

Diabetes: A Look at Race & Ethnicity

  1. During 2011-2014, the prevalence of diabetes was higher among communities of color – Asians, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics – compared to non-Hispanic whites.
  2. American Indians/Alaska Natives had the highest prevalence of diagnosed diabetes of any ethnicity in the 2013-2015 period.
  3. Among people of Hispanic ethnicity, prevalence of diabetes varied in the 2013-2015 period – 
    1. Mexicans: 13.8%
    2. Puerto Ricans: 12.0%
    3. Cubans: 9.0%
    4. Central/South Americans: 8.5%
  4. Among Asians, Asian Indians had the highest prevalence of diabetes from 2013 to 2015 at 11.2%, followed by Filipinos (8.9%), and Chinese (4.3%). Other Asian groups had a prevalence of 8.5% during this period.
  5. The prevalence of prediabetes didn’t vary greatly by race or ethnicity during the 2011-2014 period.
  6. Although the prevalence of prediabetes did not vary much by race or ethnicity during 2011-2014, more men were affected (36.6%) than women (29.3%).
  7. Among children and adolescents, non-Hispanic whites had the highest rate of new cases of Type 1 diabetes compared to other U.S. racial and ethnic groups in 2011-2012.
  8. Among children and adolescents, communities of color (U.S. minority populations) had higher rates of new cases of Type 2 diabetes compared to non-Hispanic whites in 2011-2012.

Last modified on September 28th, 2022 at 2:11 pm