HealthDay News — The prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes is 0.5 and 8.5%, respectively, among US adults, according to a study published online September 4 in The BMJ.
Guifeng Xu, MD, from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues conducted a nationwide study involving 58,186 adults aged 20 years or older to examine the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes in the US general population.
The researchers found that 6317 adults received a diagnosis of diabetes. Among US adults, the weighted prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes was 9.7, 0.5, and 8.5%, respectively. The prevalence of type 1 diabetes was higher among adults with lower education level, while type 2 diabetes was more prevalent among older adults, men, and those with lower education level, lower family income level, and higher body mass index (BMI). The weighted percentage of type 1 and type 2 diabetes was 5.6 and 91.2%, respectively, among adults with a diagnosis of diabetes. Younger adults (20 to 44 years), non-Hispanic white people, those with higher education level, and those with lower BMI had a higher percentage of type 1 diabetes.
“Continued monitoring is needed to examine dynamic changes in the prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and their proportions in people with a diagnosis of diabetes in the US general population,” the authors write.