The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of a future surge in Diabetes that could dramatically impact people under 20 years old in the coming decades, according to a new modeling study recently published in Diabetes Care.
Diabetes is a chronic, long-lasting disease that affects how your body turns food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant). More than 133 million Americans are living with diabetes or prediabetes, according to the CDC.
Researchers forecasted an upward trend that may lead to as many as 220,000 young people having type 2 diabetes in 2060 —a nearly 700% increase and the number of young people with type 1 diabetes could increase by as much as 65% in the next 40 years, according to the study published in American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Care.
“This new research should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. It’s vital that we focus our efforts to ensure all Americans, especially our young people, are the healthiest they can be,” said CDC Acting Principal Deputy Director Debra Houry, MD, MPH.
With type 1 diabetes, the body can’t make insulin. If you’re diagnosed with type 1, you’ll need to take insulin every day to survive. With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well. The good news is that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle changes.
The most common form of diabetes among U.S. youth is Type 1 diabetes, according to the CDC but in the past two decades, type 2 has substantially been on the rise.
It is estimated a total of 526,000 young people may have diabetes —including both type 1 and type 2 diabetes— by 2060.
“The COVID-19 pandemic underscored how critically important it is to address chronic diseases, like diabetes. This study further highlights the importance of continuing efforts to prevent and manage chronic diseases, not only for our current population but also for generations to come,”Houry said.
Research suggests even if the rate of new diabetes diagnoses among young people remains the same over the decades, type 2 diabetes diagnoses could increase by nearly 70%, and type 1 diabetes diagnoses could increase by 3% by 2060.
In an analysis of the data by race and ethnicity, researchers predicted a higher burden of type 2 diabetes for Black, Hispanic/Latino Asian Pacific Islanders, and American Indian/Alaska Native youth.
“Increases in diabetes—especially among young people—are always worrisome, but these numbers are alarming,” said Christopher Holliday, PhD, MPH, MA, FACHE, director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation. “This study’s startling projections of type 2 diabetes increases show why it is crucial to advance health equity and reduce the widespread disparities that already take a toll on people’s health.”
To learn more about diabetes visit https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/index.html
