New Cases of Diabetes Skyrocket

(October 31, 2008) - The number of new people developing diabetes (Read about "Diabetes") skyrocketed in the past decade. The rate of new cases of diagnosed diabetes rose by more than 90 percent among adults over the last 10 years, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The data, published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, show that in the past decade, the incidence (new cases) of diagnosed diabetes has increased from 4.8 per 1,000 people during 1995-1997 to 9.1 per 1,000 in 2005-2007 in 33 states.

The report did not distinguish between type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease while type 2 is affected by a number of factors that can be modified.

"This dramatic increase in the number of people with diabetes highlights the increasing burden of diabetes across the country," says lead author Karen Kirtland, Ph.D., a data analyst with CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation. "Changes such as weight loss combined with moderate physical activity are important steps that individuals can take to reduce their risk for developing diabetes." (Read about "Losing Weight" "Getting Started on Fitness")

The study used data from CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and provides incidence rates of diabetes for 43 states and two U.S. territories. Only 33 states had data for both time periods, but 43 states collected data in 2005-2007.

State-specific, age-adjusted estimates of new cases of diabetes ranged from 5 per 1,000 people in Minnesota to 12.7 per 1,000 in West Virginia. The number of news cases was highest in Puerto Rico at 12.8 per 1,000. States with the highest age-adjusted incidence were predominately Southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.