Nearly half of adults living with diabetes don’t know they have it, and few of those in treatment are hitting healthy blood sugar targets.
That’s according to a recent study published in the medical journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, which was led by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
For the study, researchers analyzed diabetes care across 204 countries from 2000 to 2023. They found 44% of people aged 15 and older with diabetes are unaware that they have the condition.
Among those who had been diagnosed, 91% were on medication. But among those on medication, only 42% had optimal blood glucose levels.
In other words, just 21% of all people with diabetes worldwide are receiving optimal care for the condition. And the number of people affected by the condition is growing.
“By 2050, 1.3 billion people are expected to be living with diabetes, and if nearly half don’t know they have a serious and potentially deadly health condition, it could easily become a silent epidemic,” says Lauryn Stafford, the study’s lead author, in a summary of the findings.
Diabetes can lead to life-threatening complications. For every 100,000 Americans, 28.4 die as a result of diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Potential complications include heart, kidney, and eye disease, according to the American Diabetes Association. Foot complications can result in limb loss. People with diabetes are twice as likely to have a stroke, and twice as likely to experience hearing loss.
Properly treating diabetes can help prevent such debilitating or potentially fatal complications.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends adults aged 35 to 70 years who are overweight or obese get screened for prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes.
The task force defined being overweight as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 to 29.9. It defined obesity as a BMI of 30 or higher. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. You can use the CDC’s free online BMI calculator to figure yours.
The task force suggests people in racial or ethnic minorities get checked for prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes at an even younger age, as their risk is higher. The same is true for people with a family history of diabetes, a history of gestational diabetes or a history of polycystic ovarian syndrome.
The task force recommends that people get screened by taking one of the following:
- Fasting blood glucose test
- Blood test for hemoglobin A1c (also referred to as HbA1c or just A1c), which shows average blood sugar levels over time
- Oral glucose tolerance test
A person is generally considered to have prediabetes if they have a fasting blood glucose level of 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.55 to 6.94 mmol/L), an HbA1c level of 5.7% to 6.4%, or a two-hour post-load glucose level of 140 to 199 mg/dL (7.77 to 11.04 mmol/L).
A person is generally considered to have Type 2 diabetes if they have a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dL (6.99 mmol/L) or greater, an HbA1c level of 6.5% or greater, or a two-hour post-load glucose level of 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or greater.
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