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. 2018 Sep 4:362:k1497.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.k1497.

Prevalence of diagnosed type 1 and type 2 diabetes among US adults in 2016 and 2017: population based study

Guifeng Xu  1 , Buyun Liu  1 , Yangbo Sun  1 , Yang Du  1 , Linda G Snetselaar  1 , Frank B Hu  2   3   4 , Wei Bao  5   6   7
Affiliations

Prevalence of diagnosed type 1 and type 2 diabetes among US adults in 2016 and 2017: population based study

Guifeng Xu et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of diagnosed total diabetes, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes in the US general population and the proportions of each among US adults with a diagnosis of diabetes.

Design: Nationwide, population based, cross sectional survey.

Setting: National Health Interview Survey, 2016 and 2017.

Participants: Adults aged 20 years or older (n=58 186), as a nationally representative sample of the civilian, non-institutionalized US population.

Main outcome measures: Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes in the US general population, and the proportions of each subtype in participants with a diagnosis of diabetes.

Results: Among the 58 186 included adults, 6317 had received a diagnosis of diabetes. The weighted prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes among US adults was 9.7% (95% confidence interval 9.4% to 10.0%), 0.5% (0.5% to 0.6%), and 8.5% (8.2% to 8.8%), respectively. Type 1 diabetes was more prevalent among adults with lower education level, and type 2 diabetes was more prevalent among older adults, men, and those with lower educational level, lower family income level, and higher body mass index (BMI). Among adults with a diagnosis of diabetes, the weighted percentage of type 1 and type 2 diabetes was 5.6% (4.9% to 6.4%) and 91.2% (90.4% to 92.1%), respectively. The percentage of type 1 diabetes was higher among younger adults (age 20-44 years), non-Hispanic white people, those with higher education level, and those with lower BMI, whereas the percentage of type 2 diabetes was higher among older adults (age ≥65 years), non-Hispanic Asians, those with lower education level, and those with higher BMI.

Conclusion: This study provided benchmark estimates on the national prevalence of diagnosed type 1 diabetes (0.5%) and type 2 diabetes (8.5%) among US adults. Among US adults with diagnosed diabetes, type 1 and type 2 diabetes accounted for 5.6% and 91.2%, respectively.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare: no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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