According to information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, rates of adults in the United States receiving insulin attaining glycemic control have been constant over the past three decades.
The research was conducted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Elizabeth Selvin, Ph.D., MPH, and associates.
The average length of diabetes grew from 12.9 to 17.8 years, whereas the rate of glycemic control was stable overall.
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A closer examination of age differences revealed that persons 65 and older were less likely than younger adults with diabetes to develop severe hyperglycemia and more likely to attain glycemic control on insulin.
In all, 29.2% of 2,482 persons with diabetes who were using insulin from 1988 to 1994 met their glycemic control goals, as opposed to 27.5% from 2013 to 2020.
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The change is almost negligible. In contrast, interestingly, persons 65 and older with diabetes were less likely to have severe hyperglycemia and more likely to achieve glycemic control on insulin than younger adults with diabetes.
Mexican American people receiving insulin had considerably lower glycemic control rates than white adults when racial and ethnic groups were examined.
Diabetes continues to be a significant health concern for the U.S. Many cases would have been undiagnosed.
According to a study conducted toward mid-2022 by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health scientists, there are much fewer cases of undiagnosed diabetes overall in the nation than current official statistics indicate. Yet, undiagnosed diabetics are more prevalent among older adults and ethnic/racial minorities.