Although US diabetes rates continue to climb, the rate of increase has slowed since 2008, according to a new study in JAMA. “This plateauing of diabetes prevalence is consistent with obesity trends in the United States showing a leveling off around the same period,” researchers noted. An accompanying editorial called this slowing “a glimmer of hope.” Nonetheless, the data showed that 12% to 14% of American adults had glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels characteristic of type 2 diabetes; more than a third of those had undiagnosed diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes increased across all population groups from 1988-1994 to 2011-2012, with overall incidence up by more than 25%.
