Over 6m cases of undiagnosed diabetes in the US

More than six million people in the United States are living with undiagnosed diabetes, according to latest figures from the American Diabetes Association.
The statistics show that over 25 million Americans have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Of those, 18.8 million have been formally diagnosed with their disease, meaning a further 6-7 million people have diabetes but are unaware of their condition.
The figures also reveal that as many as 79 million people in America have prediabetes, a condition which is characterised by higher than normal blood glucose levels that are yet to reach diabetic levels. Prediabetes is almost always a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Lawrence Barker, PhD Associate Director for Science in CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translatio, said: “In 2010, 35 per cent or 79 million Americans aged 20 years or older had prediabetes (50 percent of those aged 65 years or older). Similarly, 36 percent of Mexican American adults were estimated to have prediabetes in 2010.
“Prediabetes has few obvious physical signs. Rather than look for physical signs, one should consider one’s risk factors (such as obesity, sedentary lifestyle, family history of diabetes, and age) and then have one’s prediabetes status assessed,” he explained.
“Rather than focusing on symptoms, people who are at high risk of type 2 diabetes are better off seeking assessment by their health care provider.”