Diabetes in the USA

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 28 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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National Center for Health Statistics


Diabetes is characterized by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. Diabetes can be associated with serious complications and premature death, especially if it is not well controlled.

Complications can include disorders of the kidneys, nerves, blood vessels, and eye. Diabetes is a major contributing factor to blindness, end-stage renal disease, and lower extremity amputations.

Complications, morbidity, and mortality associated with diabetes can be reduced through medical management of the disease. In addition, a healthy lifestyle-weight control, exercise, and healthy diet-can reduce or delay both incidence and complications.

The age-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed diabetes increased from 5.3 percent of the adult population in 1997 to 6.5 percent in 2002. Prevalence rises rapidly with age. Adults 65 years and over are more than twice as likely to have diabetes as are persons 45-54 years of age.

Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high levels of blood glucose (sugar). Type 1 diabetes usually strikes children and young adults and accounts for 5-10 percent of all diagnosed cases. Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90-95 percent of diagnosed cases.

Risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes include obesity, being physically inactive, older age, and a family history of diabetes. The rise in diabetes prevalence is likely related, in part, to the rise in obesity among adults and overweight among children and adolescents.

Most people with diabetes visit medical practitioners to become better educated about their condition, to discuss behavioral changes, to receive prescriptions for medications to control their blood sugar levels, or to be monitored and treated for complications of the disease.

The rate of visits to physician's offices or hospital outpatient departments with any diagnosis of diabetes has increased for persons age 45 years and over.

Between 1995-96 and 1999-2000, the number of physician visits with any diagnosis of diabetes per 1,000 population increased 35 percent among persons 45-54 and increased 43 percent among persons 55-64 years of age.

Persons with diabetes are at increased risk of health complications and hospitalization. Among persons 45 years of age and over hospital discharges with any mention of diabetes accounted for 22 percent of discharges in 2000-01. Between 1990-91 and 2000-01 the rate of hospital discharges with any mention of diabetes increased for all age groups.

Diabetes is a major cause of mortality. In 2000 diabetes was the fifth leading cause of death among women and the sixth leading cause among men. Diabetes was the underlying cause of death for nearly 70,000 deaths in 2000 and mentioned on the death certificates of at least twice as many additional deaths, contributing to deaths due to such underlying causes as heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.