Undiagnosed diabetes in U.S. has dropped sharply

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – A RAND Corporation study issued last week shows the number of men in the United States with undiagnosed diabetes has declined sharply over the past 25 years, with Hispanics and African-Americans no longer more likely than whites to unknowingly have the disease.
In 1999-2002, about 20 percent of American men with diabetes didn’t know they had it, compared with about half 25 years ago, study author James P. Smith found.
In that same period, ethnic disparities among undiagnosed diabetics nearly disappeared, which Smith viewed as evidence that interventions targeting minorities have worked. However, new disparities have developed based on education levels, Smith found.
The study also found diabetes is not increasing as much as some believe; during the period studied, Smith found the share of men diagnosed with diabetes grew from about 3 percent to 7 percent, and when undiagnosed cases were included, the rate grew from 6 percent to 9 percent.