The number of Americans newly diagnosed with diabetes fell for the fifth straight year in 2014, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Based on the National Health Interview Survey, the CDC reported that new cases of diabetes fell to 1.4 million, down from a peak of 1.7 million in 2008. Overall prevalence of diabetes has also declined, from 8.5 per 1,000 adults in 2008 to 6.6; older adults continue to be at much greater risk, with diabetes prevalence 12.1 per 1,000 people age 65 and up.
Another new report, from the International Diabetes Federation, suggests the US still has a long way to go in fighting diabetes compared to other developed nations. The report, which used different metrics than the CDC, said US adults overall are more than twice as likely to have diabetes as those in the United Kingdom. No country in the European Union had as high a prevalence as the US. Developing nations, however, such as Mexico, Egypt and Turkey, all had higher rates than the US.