CDC Predicts 40% of American Adults Will Develop Diabetes

Based on a statistical analysis of almost 600,000 American Adults in three studies, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 40 percent of all U.S. adults 20 years or older will develop type 2 diabetes in their lives. (The risk for men was estimated at 40.2 percent and for women, 39.6 percent.)For Hispanic men and women and non-Hispanic black women, the statistical risk is higher: more than 50 percent.

The CDC said the percentage risk for the general adult population increased significantly since 1985-89 when the first study the agency examined showed men with a 20 percent lesser chance and women with a 13 percent lesser chance of developing diabetes than the current cohort tracked from 2000 to 2011.

Another significant finding was that the number of lifespan years lost to diabetes for men (diagnosed at age 40) decreased from 7.7 in 1990-99 to 5.8 years in 2000-11, and for women decreased from 8.7 years to 6.8 years in the same period.

In the overall U.S. adult population, the average number of lifespan years lost to diabetes increased by 46 percent in men and 44 percent in women, an indicator of the increasing prevalence of type 2 in the population.

The CDC concluded that while lifetime risk of developing diabetes has increased, mortality from it has decreased as people live longer with the condition due to medical advances. The agency cited obesity as a prime factor in the disease’s increasing presence.

To see the full text of the report, go to: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(14)70161-5/fulltext