Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Majority Of California Adults Have Prediabetes Or Diabetes,
A Third Of Young Adults Are Prediabetic
Nearly half of California adults – including one out of every three young adults – have prediabetes, a precursor to life-threatening type 2 diabetes, or undiagnosed diabetes, according to a new UCLA study. The research provides the first analysis and breakdown of California prediabetes rates by county, age and ethnicity, and offers alarming insights into the future of the nation’s diabetes epidemic.
The study found that 13 million adults in California (46 percent) are estimated to have prediabetes or undiagnosed diabetes, while another 2.5 million adults (9 percent) have already been diagnosed with diabetes. Combined, the two groups represent a majority of the state’s adult population, 15.5 million (55 percent). Since diabetes is more commonly seen among older adults, the study’s finding that 33 percent of young adults (18 to 39 years old) have prediabetes is of particular concern.
Conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and commissioned by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), the landmark study analyzed hemoglobin A1c and fasting plasma glucose findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey together with California Health Interview Survey data from over 40,000 respondents.
"This is the clearest indication to date that the type 2 diabetes epidemic is out of control and getting worse. With limited availability of healthy food in low income communities, a preponderance of soda and junk food marketing, and urban neighborhoods lacking safe places to play, we have created a world where diabetes is the natural consequence.”
- Dr. Harold Goldstein, Executive Director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy
A Third Of Young Adults Are Prediabetic
Nearly half of California adults – including one out of every three young adults – have prediabetes, a precursor to life-threatening type 2 diabetes, or undiagnosed diabetes, according to a new UCLA study. The research provides the first analysis and breakdown of California prediabetes rates by county, age and ethnicity, and offers alarming insights into the future of the nation’s diabetes epidemic.
The study found that 13 million adults in California (46 percent) are estimated to have prediabetes or undiagnosed diabetes, while another 2.5 million adults (9 percent) have already been diagnosed with diabetes. Combined, the two groups represent a majority of the state’s adult population, 15.5 million (55 percent). Since diabetes is more commonly seen among older adults, the study’s finding that 33 percent of young adults (18 to 39 years old) have prediabetes is of particular concern.
Conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and commissioned by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), the landmark study analyzed hemoglobin A1c and fasting plasma glucose findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey together with California Health Interview Survey data from over 40,000 respondents.
"This is the clearest indication to date that the type 2 diabetes epidemic is out of control and getting worse. With limited availability of healthy food in low income communities, a preponderance of soda and junk food marketing, and urban neighborhoods lacking safe places to play, we have created a world where diabetes is the natural consequence.”
- Dr. Harold Goldstein, Executive Director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy