As many as 1 in 3 U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050, federal officials announced Friday in a dramatic new projection that represents a threefold increase.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 in 10 have diabetes now, but the number could grow to 1 in 5 or even 1 in 3 by mid-century if current trends continue.
The new CDC calculation accounts for people who have diabetes but are undiagnosed - a group that wasn't figured into earlier estimates, explained Edward Gregg, chief of the CDC branch that handles diabetes epidemiology and statistics. Also, the researchers used new population growth estimates for the elderly and minorities, who have higher rates of Type 2 diabetes, he said.
Diabetes is a disease in which the body has trouble processing sugar. It was the nation's seventh leading cause of death in 2007.
In Type 1 diabetes, traditionally diagnosed in children or young adults, the body does not produce enough of a hormone called insulin to help sugar get into cells.
In Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for about 95 percent of cases, the body's cells resist insulin's attempts to transport sugar. Type 2 is most common in people who are overweight and obese, in people 60 and older, and in African Americans and other minority groups.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Adult diabetes rate could surge to 33%, CDC says
4:52 PM
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The growth in U.S. diabetes cases has been closely tied to escalating obesity rates.
