The overall prevalence of diabetes increased 35% from 1988-1994 to 2011-2014 among adults aged 20 years and over, according the National Center for Health Statistics.
During 2011-2014, the age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes was 11.9% in adults aged 20 years and over, compared with 8.8% in 1988-1994. That 35% increase came despite a decrease in undiagnosed diabetes from 3.6% to 2.9% over that time period, which was not enough to offset a jump in physician-diagnosed disease from 5.2% to 9%, the NCHS reported in “Health, United States, 2016.”
Although diabetes prevalence was up for each of the largest racial/ethnic groups, only the increase from 7.7% to 9.6% in non-Hispanic whites was statistically significant. Prevalence in non-Hispanic blacks rose from 16.3% to 18% from 1988-1994 to 2011-2014, and adults of Mexican origin saw an increase from 15.6% to 18%. Neither change was statistically significant, the NCHS said.
Undiagnosed diabetes dropped from 2.9% to 2% in whites and from 7.2% to 4.6% in blacks, but adults of Mexican origin saw a slight increase from 5% in 1988-1994 to 5.1% in 2011-2014. The physician-diagnosed side of the equation rose from 4.8% to 7.6% in whites, 9.1% to 13.4% in blacks, and 10.7% to 13% in those of Mexican origin, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which combines interviews and physical examinations, including laboratory analysis of blood samples.
