About 33% of U.S. Residents Born in 2000 Likely To Develop Diabetes, Study Finds
About 33% of U.S. residents born in 2000 will likely develop diabetes in their lifetimes, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Healthday/Detroit Free Press reports. In the study, Dr. K.M. Venkat Narayan, chief of the diabetes epidemiology division at the CDC, and colleagues analyzed health data on about 360,000 individuals collected between 1984 and 2000 as part of the National Health Interview Survey (Gardner, Healthday/Detroit Free Press, 10/8). The study found that women have a 38.5% lifetime risk for diabetes, compared with 32.8% for men, and that women have a higher risk at all ages. Hispanics had the highest lifetime risk for diabetes among all ethnic groups, with 52.5% of Hispanic women and 45.4% of Hispanic men likely to develop the disease, according to the study (Narayan et al., JAMA, 10/8). The study also found that 49% of black women and 41.4% of black men are likely to develop diabetes in their lifetimes and that 31.2% of white women and 26.7% of white men are likely to develop the disease (Kotulak, Chicago Tribune, 10/8). In addition, the study found that individuals who develop diabetes will have large reductions in life expectancy and quality of life. Men who develop diabetes at age 40 will lose 11.6 life-years and 18.6 quality-adjusted life-years, and women who develop the disease at age 40 will lose 14.3 life-years and 22 quality-adjusted life-years (JAMA, 10/8). Individuals with diabetes often develop other health problems, such as heart disease, kidney disease and blindness, at an earlier age than those without the disease (Chicago Tribune, 10/8). The prevalence of diabetes increased by about 40% between 1990 and 1999 in the United States and will likely increase by about 165% between 2000 and 2050, the study found (Healthday/Detroit Free Press, 10/8). Narayan attributed the increase in the prevalence of the diabetes to the rise in the number of overweight and obese U.S. residents. He added that diabetes costs the nation about $132 billion per year in medical costs and lost productivity (Chicago Tribune, 10/8). The study is available online.
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