Estimates of diabetes incidence are that 16 million U.S. citizens have diabetes, even though only about two thirds of them have actually been diagnosed with the disease. Sex of the person does not seem to matter much as the diabetes incidence of women are just slightly more than that of men.

About 1 in 800 Americans have type 1 diabetes, the most serious form of the disease. About 95 out of every 100 patients that have been diagnosed, have been diagnosed with type II diabetes. Every year, between 500,000 and a million additional people are diagnosed with diabetes. This means that, in the U.S. alone, every day of the year, more than a thousand patients are being told by their doctors that they have diabetes.

Looking at diabetes incidence worldwide, it’s conservatively estimated, among countries that keep such records, that over 140 million people have the disease. And looking at the incidence of diabetes by age group, the demographic with the highest percentage of members that have diabetes is those in the 65 years and older group, with almost 2 out of every 10 having some form of the disease.

Contrast that with the under 20 year old demographic, where less than two tenths of one percent have diabetes – although the percentage has slowly been increasing due to more and more teenagers becoming obese due to poor dietary habits.

In the population as a whole, the incidences of the disease have been slowly, but steadily increasing over the last twenty or so year. At this point, many doctors and researchers consider it a full blown out of control epidemic. This is especially depressing in light of the fact that so many incidences of this disease could easily be prevented, or at least delayed, by following health dietary guidelines.

Some of the diabetes incidence in the elderly population is unavoidable because of the way the body changes as we age. For example, nearly all of us experience insulin resistance as we age. This means that, even though our body is producing enough insulin to process the glucose in our bloodstream, out body is not able to handle it at the same rate as it did when it was younger.

But even though this process seems to happen in all of us, the rate at which it happens and the rate at which it happens still seems to be related to how well we looked after our diet in our younger years. And the rapid increase of type II diabetes in children, does not bode well for that generation as they age.

Like many chronic diseases, this particular disease does not attack us dramatically and head on. It sneaks up over us over the years – so slowly that many never even notice it. And all the while it’s slowly doing damage to other parts of our bodies. A disease like diabetes affects so much of how we live our later lives. This is what makes it so important to get a handle on it early in our lives and learn to control it.

Alice Saracho writes about nutrition and news related to diabetes such as prediabetes symptoms and the history of diabetes. Please visit her website for more articles and information.

Article Source: Diabetes Incidence Estimates