Future surge in diabetes to dramatically impact people under 20 in U.S.: study

Los Angeles, U.S. | Xinhua | The number of young people under age 20 with diabetes in the United States is likely to increase more rapidly in future decades, according to a new modeling study published on Thursday.

This expected upward trend may lead to as many as 220,000 young people having type 2 diabetes in 2060, a nearly 700 percent increase, according to the study published in Diabetes Care.

The number of young people with type 1 diabetes could increase by as much as 65 percent in the next 40 years, according to the study.

Even if the rate of new diabetes diagnoses among young people remains the same over the decades, type 2 diabetes diagnoses could increase nearly 70 percent and type 1 diabetes diagnoses could increase 3 percent by 2060, the study showed.

“This new research should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. It’s vital that we focus our efforts to ensure all Americans, especially our young people, are the healthiest they can be,” said Debra Houry, acting principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.