Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D., President and CEO of JDRF has issued a statement based on two new reports issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates a nearly 30% increase in the number of T1D cases in the United States in the last two years, with youth cases growing most sharply among minority groups.
The CDC’s 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report cites that in the United States, T1D diagnoses included 1.4 million adults, 20 years and older, and 187,000 children younger than 20.
That totals nearly 1.6 million Americans with T1D – up from 1.25 million people – or nearly 30% from 2017.
A separate CDC report focused on T1D in youth, showed that T1D is growing most sharply in African American and Hispanic youth populations. As the reason is unknown, the CDC is advocating for continued “surveillance” of T1D in today’s youth populations.
According to the report, between 2002 and 2015:
- T1D cases among African American children increased by 20% with 20.8 children diagnosed per 100,000
- T1D cases among Hispanic children increased nearly 20% with 16.3 per 100,000
- T1D cases among Asian / Pacific Island children increased 19% with 9.4 per 100,000
- White children are the slowest growing demographic with a 14% increase, yet remain the most impacted group with 27.3 T1D cases per 100,000
The report also showed that diagnoses occurred most frequently between the ages of 5 and 14.
- 33.5% were ages 10-14
- 27% were 5-9
“The CDC’s announcement that the number of Americans living with type 1 diabetes has grown by nearly 30 percent—affecting 1.6 million adults and children—underscores the need to make an even greater impact in the fight against this disease. JDRF is leading the fight through funding innovative research and advocating for policies that accelerate access to new therapies. We are at the cusp of enormous opportunities for our community, and this report that our community is growing reinforces our urgency to improve the lives of those living with type 1 diabetes and drive toward cures and prevention of the disease,” said Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of JDRF.
T1D is a chronic, life-threatening autoimmune disease that can strike children and adults at any age. It requires rigorous 24/7 monitoring of blood glucose levels—even overnight—to avoid potentially lethal highs and lows in blood sugar, as well as other devastating complications like kidney, eye and nerve diseases. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved. Its onset is sudden and is not related to diet or lifestyle. In T1D, the body’s immune system destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, meaning the body produces little to no insulin to regulate blood sugar and get energy from food. At present, there is no way to prevent T1D nor cure it. Global estimates show that this a world-wide, growing disease with significant costs.
JDRF is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of T1D research. JDRF’s research portfolio and advocacy efforts are driving cures for T1D while advancing therapies that reduce the burden of managing the disease today and lower the risk of long-term complications. In just the last year, the T1D community has seen great process with the FDA authorization of the Tandem Control-IQ algorithm that enables the second artificial pancreas system, as well as progress toward better insulin-producing beta cells, and an immune therapy treatment, teplizumab, that was able to delay the onset of T1D for more than two years.
Learn more about JDRF’s commitment to improving the lives of those with T1D and finding cures through innovative research here.
Where exactly are the stats you quote from the report? As the report itself says, “Most estimates of diabetes in this report do not differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. However, as type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% to 95% of all diabetes cases, the data presented here are more likely to be characteristic of type 2 diabetes, except as noted.” Even then, given that people with T1 self-reported, is it possible that increased awareness of misdiagnosis (remembering that it’s well known at *least* 20% of people currently diagnosed as T2 actually have T1, T3c, or MODY) might… Read more »