More than 40% of American adults aged 20 years and older have hyperglycemic conditions, according to review of data from the 2005–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
In this study, Catherine Cowie, Ph.D., of the National Institutes of Health and her colleagues compared NHANES data for 1988–1994 with data for 2005–2006 (Diabetes Care 2009;32:287–94).
The crude prevalence of diabetes, including diagnosed and undiagnosed cases based on fasting plasma glucose or 2-hour glucose tests, was 13% in individuals aged 20 years and older. The total diabetes prevalence peaked at about 30% among all age groups older than 60 years, and the prevalence of diabetes was approximately the same in both men and women.
After the researchers controlled for age and sex, the total diabetes prevalence was 70% higher in non-Hispanic blacks and 80% higher in Mexican Americans, compared with non-Hispanic whites.
The total crude prevalence of prediabetes, including both diagnosed and undiagnosed cases based on impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) tests was 30%, and this prevalence was highest among individuals aged 75 years and older, where it reached 47%.
The prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, was significantly higher in men, compared with women (48% vs. 34%) but most of this difference was because of the greater prevalence of prediabetes among men. And the prevalence of any hyperglycemic condition was significantly higher in non-Hispanic blacks, compared with whites (44% vs. 39%) and in Mexican Americans vs. non-Hispanic whites (52% vs. 39%).
When the researchers compared the 2005–2006 data with the data for 1988–1994, they found that the crude prevalence of diagnosed diabetes rose significantly, from 5% to 8%.
“The sheer magnitude of prevalence of hyperglycemic conditions found in 2005–2006 portends all the consequences of diabetes,” the researchers wrote.
The results were limited by the use of a single plasma glucose reading for some cases of undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes, the investigators reported.
But the findings illustrate the chronic problem of diabetes and prediabetes in the United States and support the need for lifestyle modification for individuals with diabetes or prediabetes, said the researchers, who had no financial conflicts to disclose.