The proportion of American adults with diabetes has increased significantly over the past two decades, and about a quarter of people are unaware that they have the chronic disease, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

Diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or cells are unable to use it.

 

The two main kinds of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. It typically arises during childhood.

Type 2 diabetes is the more common form of the disease and usually arises later in life. Although the body still produces some insulin, cells are unable to use it for energy, a condition known as insulin resistance.

 

Today, nearly one in six U.S. adults are living with diabetes, the CDC reports.

 

The prevalence of diabetes has increased from 9.7% between 1999 and 2000 to 15.8% between 2021 and 2023. The report also showed that diabetes is more common in men (18%) than women (13.7%).

 

Black adults are disproportionately affected by diabetes. Indeed, in 2018, Black people were 60% more likely than white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

 

What’s more, a study published earlier this year found that the rate of type 2 diabetes among Black Americans increased by almost 20% between 2012 and 2022 compared with other racial groups.

 

The symptoms of type 1 and type 2 are similar, but some people with type 2 diabetes display milder signs that may go unnoticed. Diabetes may be preceded by mild symptoms and lab test abnormalities known as prediabetes, according to Real Health’s Basics on Diabetes.

 

Prediabetes is more common in people who are 45 or older or have overweight, high blood pressure or a family history of type 2 diabetes. Black, Latino, Asian American and Native American people are at higher risk for prediabetes as well.

 

The prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes is also high among Latinos in the United States. For example, young Latinos are at higher risk for prediabetes. Indeed, more than 22% of Latino youth and 28.7% of Latino young adults have prediabetes compared with 15.8% and 21% of non-Latino white young and young adults, according to the Keck School of Medicine.

 

To reduce the risk of or treat diabetes, experts recommend lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity, following a healthy diet and, for those with overweight or obesity, losing weight. 

 

To read more, click #Diabetes. There, you’ll find headlines such as “NIH Launches Large Study to Tackle Type 2 Diabetes in Young People,” “One in Eight People Are Now Living With Obesity” and “Use of Metformin by Adults With Diabetes Linked to Lower Risk of Long COVID.”