Rates of diabetes have increased more than 175% in US since 1980.
AB Wire
A staggering 55% of California adults have either diabetes or pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetic, according to a study by researchers from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
Experts already knew that about 9% of people in the state have diabetes. But previous estimates had put the rate of pre-diabetes at about 33%, lower than the 46% calculated by UCLA researchers, reported the Los Angeles Times.
Rates of diabetes have increased more than 175% nationally since 1980, according to federal data. It’s now the seventh-leading cause of death in California.
The UCLA researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to create a model that predicts pre-diabetes, based on factors such as race, height and weight. That model was then applied to data from the California Health Interview Survey, determining that 13 million adults in the state have either pre-diabetes or undiagnosed diabetes.
Up to 70% of those with pre-diabetes develop diabetes in their lifetime.
“This study is a barometer that’s telling us that the storm is coming,” Harold Goldstein, head of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, a nonprofit that supports public health initiatives and funded the study, was quoted as saying by the Times.
Already, 2.5 million Californians have been diagnosed with diabetes, which can cause kidney failure, amputation and premature death. More than 100 diabetic Californians lose a leg, foot or toe every week because of the disease, according to state data.
But experts say there’s hope of curbing the disease’s spread. The vast majority of diabetes cases in California — upward of 90% — are Type 2, which is preventable. People can stave off developing diabetes by adopting a healthier diet and increasing physical activity, experts say.
The UCLA researchers found that pre-diabetes in California increases with age, from 33% of adults ages 18 to 39 having the condition to 60% in those 55 to 69.
They also found racial and ethnic variation in the rates. About 42% of Asian adults have pre-diabetes, 44% of Latino adults, 48% of white adults, 50% of African American adults and 55% of Pacific Islander adults.
Read the full story: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-pre-diabetes-20160310-story.html