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November 2015 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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If left untreated,
diabetes can
cause numerous
complications.
The True Prevalence of Diabetes
Half of American adults have the disease
By Angela S. Hoover, Staff Writer
About half of
American adults
have diabetes or
prediabetes, according to a study from the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD),
published in the Sept. 8 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical
Association. Diabetes is a major
cause of death in the United States.
It can also increase the risk for heart
disease and stroke. If left untreated,
diabetes can cause numerous complications, including nerve damage,
kidney failure and blindness. Most
cases of diabetes are type 2, in which
the body’s cells stop responding to
the hormone insulin. This causes a
buildup of sugar in the bloodstream.
Prediabetes is a condition of ongoing higher than average blood sugar
levels.
From 2011 to 2012, more than 12
percent of U.S. adults had diabetes;
38 percent had prediabetes; and
more than one third of the American
adult population was undiagnosed.
Asian Americans had the highest
percentage – 51 percent – of undiagnosed diabetes.
The researchers analyzed data
from more than 26,000 American
adults who took part in surveys
between 1988 through 2012.
Participants responded as to whether
they had been diagnosed with diabetes and also provided blood samples
for the researchers to check their
blood sugar levels.
During the course of the study,
the percentage of people with diabetes increased from less than 10
percent in the 1988-1994 period to
more than 12 percent in the 20112012 time frame. This increase
in diabetes is in tandem with an
increase in obesity. Obesity is cited
as the most important risk factor for
type 2 diabetes. Conversely, diabetes
rates changed little between 2006
and 2012, and in this same time
period, there was a leveling of obesity rates. About one in three adults
aged 65 and older had diabetes in
2011 to 2012, compared to 17 percent of adults aged 45 to 64 and 5
percent of adults younger than 45.
Roughly one third or 32 percent
of Caucasians were unaware they
had diabetes. Among black participants, 37 percent were undiagnosed.
Undiagnosed Hispanic participants
were even higher at 49 percent. And
as already noted, Asian Americans
topped the percentages of undiagnosed diabetes at 51 percent. It is
likely that Asian Americans have
such a high percentage of undiagnosed diabetes because this ethnic
group often develops type 2 diabetes
at a lower body mass index than
other ethnic groups. This could
lead to doctors not screening Asian
Americans for diabetes.
The researchers say the prevalence
of so many adults with undiagnosed
diabetes means there is a greater
need to test for type 2 diabetes as
well as a need for more education
on when to test for type 2 diabetes.
They also hope there will be future
ILATES
ILATES
PPP
PALCAEC E
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studies on subgroups of people who
are at the highest risks for underdiagnoses of diabetes. The American
Diabetes Association recommends
two tests to confirm a diabetes diagnosis.
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