ATHENS -- Age, race, income level, obesity all factor in risk of diabetes diagnosis Type 2 diabetes increased by almost 20% between 2012 and 2022, according to a new study from the University of Georgia. The researchers found an increase in diabetes among all sociodemographic groups. But non-Hispanic black people were particularly hard hit by the disease, with just under 16% of black study participants reporting being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
More than one in five individuals aged 65 or older had the condition. The same age group was more than 10 times as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than people in the 18-to-24-year age bracket. People between the ages of 45 and 64 were more than five times as likely to receive the diagnosis.
The study also found that individuals with lower incomes had a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes than their higher income counterparts. People with high incomes were 41% less likely to be diagnosed with the disease. And individuals with a college education were 24% less likely to be given a diabetes diagnosis.
“Diabetes is increasing day by day in the U.S., and it will increase even more in the coming years,” Sulakshan Neupane, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said.
“Diabetes costs around $412 billion, including medical costs and indirect costs like loss of productivity. That’s a huge amount, and it’s only going to increase as more people are .