Diabetes on rise among adults in US

Washington, Aug 1: Diabetes is continuing to rise among adults, including Indian Americans, in the United States, according to a new analysis of national survey data, say researchers at the National Institute of Health (NIH) here.

Despite efforts to raise awareness about the problem, about a third of adults with diabetes still don't know they have it.

Diabetes is a group of diseases marked by high levels of glucose in the blood. Persistent high levels can lead to blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart disease and stroke.

Researchers at NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from a national sample of US adults 20 years old and over who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Participants were interviewed in their homes and given a physical exam with a blood test, including a glucose reading taken after an overnight fast.

The researchers found that the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in US adults rose from about 5.1 per cent in the years 1988-1994 to 6.5 per cent in 1999-2002. About 2.8 per cent of US adults, a third of those who have diabetes, don't even know they have it.

The study says about a quarter of US adults have impaired fasting glucose, a form of pre-diabetes. People with pre-diabetes have an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, and for heart disease and stroke.

The study also found that some populations have higher rates of diabetes. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Asian, Indian Americans and Pacific Islanders develop type 2 diabetes more often than white Americans. But obesity and physical inactivity may be greater risk factors than a person's genes.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body has problems producing or using insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. For people living a Western lifestyle-with low physical activity levels and a high-fat, high-sugar, low-fiber diet-a family history of type 2 diabetes is one of the strongest risk factors for getting the disease. But people living in non-Westernized areas appear to get less type 2 diabetes regardless of their genetic risk.

''We know that there are genetic factors involved, but it's clear that lifestyle, food habits and the amount of physical activity play very important roles in the development of type 2 diabetes,'' Dr Saul Malozowski of NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases explained.

Among Asian Americans, for example, traditional plant-and fish-based diets are being replaced with more animal protein, animal fats and processed carbohydrates. This could be a reason why diabetes is a growing problem among those populations in the United States. People who are inactive and eat a diet high in fat and low in fruits and vegetables are at higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

''Being overweight and sedentary is an unhealthy combination,'' says Dr James Gavin, III, past chair of the National Diabetes Education Program and clinical professor of medicine at Emory University's School of Medicine. ''It becomes even more risky when you add a genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes.'' A crucial fact revealed by diabetes research is that, whatever the ethnic background, diabetes can be prevented or even delay the onset of the disease by losing a modest amount of weight, lowering the fat and calories content in the diet, and increasing your physical activity to 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

UNI