Introduction

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex group of disorders that result in hyperglycemia. Insufficient insulin production and/or resistance to the effects of insulin cause the hyperglycemia. Without the effect of insulin, the cells of the liver and skeletal muscle are unable to efficiently remove and store excess blood glucose.

Fast Facts on Diabetes

• Diabetes
  • Total: 37.3 million people have diabetes (11.3% of the US population)
  • Diagnosed: 28.7 million people, including 28.5 million adults
  • Undiagnosed: 8.5 million people (23.0% of adults are undiagnosed)
• Prediabetes
  • Total: 96 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes (38.0% of the adult US population)
  • 65 years or older: 26.4 million people aged 65 years or older (48.8%) have prediabetes
  https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics-report/index.html

Trends in Prevalence of Diagnosed Diabetes, Undiagnosed Diabetes, and Total Diabetes

• During 2001–2020, the age-adjusted prevalence of total diabetes significantly increased among adults aged 18 years or older (Figure 1).
• Prevalence estimates for total diabetes were 10.3% in 2001–2004 and 13.2% in 2017–2020 (Appendix Table 2).
• During this period, the age-adjusted prevalence significantly increased for diagnosed diabetes. No significant change in undiagnosed diabetes prevalence was detected

More people are developing type 1 and type 2 diabetes during youth, and racial and ethnic minorities continue to develop type 2 diabetes at higher rates. Likewise, the proportion of older people in our nation is increasing, and older people are more likely to have a chronic disease like diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/data/statistics/national-diabetes-statistics-report.pdf
Chronic hyperglycemia of DM is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-limb amputation. The prevalence of DM is increasing in the United States.

Types of Diabetes

• Type 1 – about 5-10 % - occurring during childhood or adolescence - do not produce any insulin
• Type 1.5 Latent Autoimmune diabetes in Adults (LADA) 15-25%
• Type 2 –occurring after the age of 45 – produce insulin but not efficiently
• Pre-diabetes – higher than normal blood glucose levels but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes
• Gestational – a form of diabetes that develops during pregnancy

Reference

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). National Diabetes Statistics Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics-report/index.html

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