U.S. Diabetes Prevalence Expected to Skyrocket

As many as one in three may have diabetes by 2050

FRIDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- By 2050, as many as one in three U.S. adults are expected to have diabetes if current trends continue, according to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published Oct. 22 in Population Health Metrics.

Right now, one in 10 U.S. adults has diabetes, but with an aging population, an increase in minority groups at risk for type 2 diabetes, and the fact that people with diabetes live longer, estimates for the future range from a prevalence of one in five to one in three. Yearly new diabetes cases could increase from eight per 1,000 people in 2008 to 15 per 1,000 in 2050.

The authors note that the United States isn't the only country likely to see an increase in its diabetes burden. The International Diabetes Federation estimates as many as 438 million people will have diabetes by 2030, up from 285 in 2010.

"These are alarming numbers that show how critical it is to change the course of type 2 diabetes," said Ann Albright, Ph.D., director of the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation. "Successful programs to improve lifestyle choices on healthy eating and physical activity must be made more widely available, because the stakes are too high and the personal toll too devastating to fail."

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