A survey from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered nearly 13 percent of adults age 20 and older have diabetes and 40 percent of them have not been diagnosed. The survey included data from an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) which found nearly one-third of individuals over the age of 65 have diabetes and 30 percent of adults have pre-diabetes, a condition marked by elevated blood sugar that is not in the diabetic range yet.
 
In the analysis of the survey and study, researchers found:

• The rate of diagnosed diabetes increased between the surveys, but the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes and pre-diabetes remained relatively stable.
• Minority groups continue to bear a disproportionate burden. The prevalence of diabetes, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, in non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican- Americans is about 70 to 80 percent higher than that of non-Hispanic whites.
• Diabetes prevalence was virtually the same in men and women, as was the proportion of undiagnosed cases.
• Pre-diabetes is more common in men than in women (36 percent compared to 23 percent).
• Diabetes is rare in youth ages 12 to 19 years, but about 16 percent have pre-diabetes.

The findings show the importance of curbing obesity and the need for early intervention for those with elevated blood sugar.

This article originally appeared in the February 2009 issue of Kidney Beginnings: The Electronic Newsletter.