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Rapid rise in prediabetes in England raises concerns about future disease
An alarming surge in adult prediabetes rates in England points toward an increase in the number of people who could progress to being diagnosed with full-blown diabetes, according to research published in BMJ Open.
The near-23% rise in cases of higher-than-normal blood glucose concentrations in 8 years uncovered by researchers at the University of Florida amounted to 35% of the adult population, with those of lower socioeconomic status at higher risk.
“We did one study of projections of diabetes prevalence in the U.S. several years ago, and we felt like a better understanding of prediabetes in the UK was in order,” Arch G. Mainous III, PhD, of the College of Public Health and Health Professions at University of Florida, told Endocrine Today. “Not everyone is equally likely to transition to diabetes so we have been motivated to try and identify those at high risk. This helps in planning health services.”
Arch G. Mainous III
Mainous and colleagues evaluated data collected in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2011 by the Health Survey for England for individuals aged ≥16 years who provided a blood sample. Those with HbA1c levels between 5.7% and 6.4% who had not already been diagnosed with diabetes were classified as having prediabetes.
From 2003 to 2011, the prevalence rate of prediabetes rose from 11.6% to 35.3%. In 2011, 50.6% of adults aged ≥40 years with BMI >25 had prediabetes. In bivariate relationships, greater socioeconomic deprivation was associated with prediabetes in 2003 (P=.0008) and 2006 (P=.0246) but not in 2009 or 2011.
In 2001, the second-to-most socioeconomically deprived quintile showed significantly elevated risk of having prediabetes (OR=1.45; 95% CI, 1.26-1.88), based on logistic regression and adjusting for age, sex, race and ethnicity, BMI and high blood pressure.
“Better detection and informing patients of potential strategies, the success of those strategies and the implications of not addressing the problem needs to become a higher priority in the delivery of care,” Mainous said. — by Allegra Tiver
For More Information:
Mainous can be reached at University of Florida, Health Science Center, PO Box 100195, Gainesville, FL 32610; email: arch.mainous@phhp.ufl.edu.
Disclosure: The research was supported by a grant contract from the U.S. Department of Defense.