Epidemiology of diabetes

[2] The primary causes of type 2 diabetes is diet and physical activity, which can contribute to increased BMI, poor nutrition, hypertension, alcohol use and smoking, while genetics is also a factor.

The greatest increase in prevalence is, however, occurring in low- and middle-income countries[8] including in Asia and Africa, where most patients will probably be found by 2030.

[8][9] The risk of getting type 2 diabetes has been widely found to be associated with lower socio-economic position across countries.

[8][11] The burden of diabetes (both type 1 and 2) has a possibility to lead to complications of multiple body systems including nephropathy, neuropathy and retinopathy.

[12] About half of patients with type 2 diabetes die due to cardiovascular disease and 10% from kidney failure.

[16] Indigenous nomadic peoples like Tibetans and Mongols are at much higher susceptibility than Han Chinese.

[17] Among young and middle aged adults the prevalence of diabetes is 6.7% and prediabetes is 5.6% according to the National Family Health Survey-4.

[19] According to the Indian Heart Association, India is projected to be home to 109 million individuals with diabetes by 2035.

[21] The high incidence is attributed to a combination of genetic susceptibility plus adoption of a high-calorie, low-activity lifestyle by India's growing middle class.

[11] However these numbers are likely an underestimate, as data obtained from blood samples indicate about 20% of diabetes cases remain undiagnosed.

[3] According to the 2014 Statistics Report done by the CDC it was found that, "Diabetes Mellitus affects an estimated 29.1 million people in the United States and is the 7th leading cause of death.

It also increases the chances of mortality, as well as the risk for heart attack, kidney failure, and blindness"[31] While the number of people with diabetes in the US continues to grow, the number of new cases has been declining since 2009, after decades of increases in new cases.

[37] Geographically, there is a U.S. diabetes belt with high diabetes prevalence estimates, which includes Mississippi and parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) cites the 2003 assessment of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) that one in three Americans born after 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetimes.

This relates to the fact that the most common form of diabetes, type 2, is strongly associated with unhealthy weight.

[36] A second study by AHRQ found that diabetes with complications was one of the twenty most expensive conditions seen in U.S. inpatient hospitalizations in 2011, with an aggregate cost of nearly $5.4 billion for 561,000 stays.

It was among the top five most expensive conditions for uninsured patients, at an aggregate cost of $440 million for 62,000 hospitalizations.

[46] Reasons include higher rates of obesity, physical inactivity, and living in poor housing and environments among Indigenous peoples.