Study Says One in Three Americans Has Diabetes or Precursor to It

More than 73 million Americans now have diabetes or may be on their way to getting it, according to a study published in the June 2006 issue of Diabetes Care. A different study also published in June found that it may be necessary to lower cholesterol even further than previously believed in order to prevent heart attacks in people with type 2 diabetes. The study compared data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to that of the 1988-1994 NHANES.

Researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lead by researcher Dr. Catherine, found that the prevalence of diabetes in America continues to climb. While the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes has remained essentially stable since 1988-1994 at 2.8%, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes rose sharply during the same period -- from 5.1% to 6.5% of the population. The study also found that showed 9.3% of American adults age 20 and older, approximately 19.3 million people, had diabetes in the period between 1999 and 2002.

Another 26% of Americans were found to have impaired fasting glucose (IFG), a form of pre-diabetes. In pre-diabetes, glucose levels are higher than normal, even though they are not yet high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Previous research has found that pre-diabetes often leads to diabetes within 10 years if no steps are taken to prevent it.

In addition, the study also found that minorities continue to suffer disproportionately, with prevalence rates nearly twice as high for African Americans and Mexican Americans compared to Caucasians.