In Two Decades, Diabetes Doubled

The authors of a new study found that the rise in diabetes from 5.5% to 9.3% of the U.S. population over the last 20 years paralleled the growing rate of obesity in America. Better screening tools such as the HbA1c diagnostic test have also helped physicians identify more diabetes cases, the researchers say. In 1988, about 16% of individuals who met the criteria for diabetes were not diagnosed by a physician. That number fell to 11% in 2010. Because the total number of diabetics in the U.S. has increased to nearly 21 million, the study authors say the number of estimated undiagnosed cases – around 2.3 million – has remained the same over the last two decades. Experts predict that the number of Americans with diabetes will reach 44 million by 2034. Annals of Internal Medicine, April 2014