Prevalence of Diabetes 15.8 Percent in U.S. Adults From 2021 to 2023

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of diabetes was 15.8 percent among U.S. adults during August 2021 to August 2023, according to a November data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Jane A. Gwira, M.D., M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the prevalence of diagnosed, undiagnosed, and total diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) among U.S. adults during August 2021 to August 2023.

The researchers found that the prevalence of total diabetes was 15.8 percent, and the prevalence rates of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes were 11.3 and 4.5 percent, respectively, among U.S. adults during August 2021 to August 2023. Men had a higher prevalence of total and diagnosed diabetes than women (18.0 and 12.9 percent versus 13.7 and 9.7 percent). With age and with increasing weight status, there was an increase in the prevalence of total, diagnosed, and undiagnosed diabetes. Between 1999-2002 and August 2021 to August 2023, there was an increase in the age-adjusted prevalence of total and diagnosed diabetes.

“Slightly more than one-quarter of adults with diabetes had undiagnosed diabetes,” the authors write. “Continued monitoring of both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes will provide essential information about the prevalence of diabetes in adults in the United States.”

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