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Study: Half Of Americans Have Diabetes Or Pre-Diabetes

A new study published in JAMA reveals that about half of all Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Researchers found that 12 to 14 percent of Americans had diabetes in 2011 and 2012. That's up from about 10 percent since the early nineties, but the rate has remained level since 2008.

An additional 38 percent of adults had pre-diabetes, which means half of all American adults either have the disease or its precursors.

The number of Americans who had diabetes without knowing it declined from about 40 percent in the mid-nineties to 31 percent in 2011-2012.

Analysts credit better screening and public health campaigns as well as new federal, local and state nutrition and exercise policies for raising awareness and keeping diabetes rates at bay.

But the news was not encouraging across all racial and ethnic lines. The percent of African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics with diabetes is nearly double the rate for whites, and the proportion of undiagnosed diabetes was up to 50 percent in Hispanics and Asian Americans, compared to about a third for whites and African Americans.

Read More:



  • Diabetes Nation? Half Of Americans Have Diabetes Or Pre-Diabetes (LA Times)
  • Half Of Adults In The U.S. Have Diabetes Or Pre-Diabetes, Study Finds (Forbes)
  • One Third Of Diabetes In The U.S. Is Undiagnosed (Reuters)


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