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August 23, 2007
Los Angeles - A new policy brief by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that the number of Californians diagnosed with diabetes is continuing to rise. In 2005, 1.8 million adults (7 percent) had been diagnosed with the disease, up from 1.5 million (6.2 percent) in 2001.
The brief also looks at diabetes prevalence by California counties, and reveals that rates vary considerably as one moves throughout the state. For instance, Nevada County has the lowest rate at 2.6 percent, while Imperial County has the highest rate at 11.2 percent.
"These findings show that diabetes, with its many serious complications, is rapidly becoming a major public health concern in California," said Allison L. Diamant, MD, MSHS, lead author the of the study and associate professor in the Division of General Internal medicine and health Services Research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "To make matters worse, we are seeing some of the most dramatic increases in prevalence among those least able to manage the disease properly, such as the poor and those with inadequate access to care."
The brief relies on California Health Interview Survey data from 2001 and 2005.
Diabetes prevalence increased significantly from 2001 to 2005 for all racial and ethnic groups, except African Americans, who continue to have among the highest overall prevalence rates. Increases in prevalence are also highest among those with low income and the least education.
Other findings include:
- Because of its moderately high prevalence rate and the size of its population, Los Angeles has more adults (520,000) diagnosed with diabetes than any other county.
- American Indians (+5.9 percentage points), Asians (+1.5 percentage points) and Latinos Latinos (+1.2 percentage points) experienced significant increases in diabetes prevalence from 2001 to 2005.
- Diabetes rates are highest among immigrants living the longest in the United States. Among adults born outside the U.S., the diabetes rate among those who have lived here for 15 years or more is three times as high as those who have lived here fewer than 10 years (9.8 percent vs. 3.2 percent).
- Although many California adults with diabetes are receiving recommended care, hundreds of thousands do not receive this care and are at serious risk for complications such as vascular disease requiring amputation, blindness, heart attack or stroke.
- California adults who lack health insurance coverage and a usual source of care are much less likely to be using medication for diabetes and to receive recommended diabetes care such as foot exams, eye exams and monitoring of cholesterol.
"The rising diabetes epidemic is yet another instance of the dramatic health disparities between the advantaged and disadvantaged in California," said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment, which provided funding for the policy brief. "It is time for us all to recognize the crisis that this disease represents and ensure that these communities have access to prevention programs and primary health care for the uninsured."
Since it was first conducted in 2001, the California Health Interview Survey has been an essential tool for policy makers, researchers and health advocates at every level needing a detailed snapshot of the complex health needs of California's diverse population. The survey is a collaborative project of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the California Department of Health Services, and the Public Health Institute.
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research was established in 1994 and is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers. It is also the premier source of key health policy information for California. The Center is based in the UCLA School of Public Health and is affiliated with the UCLA School of Public Affairs.
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