A new modeling study has found that the number of young Americans who are likely to develop type 2 diabetes in the country could rise almost sevenfold over the next 40 years—an estimate that has shocked some experts.
The study, “Projections of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Burden in the U.S. Population Aged <20 Years Through 2060: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study,” was published in the journal of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) on Dec. 16. It forecasts that up to 220,000 young Americans under the age of 20 might have type 2 diabetes by 2060, which is a 673 percent increase from 2017 levels.
The overall number of youths with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2 combined, is expected to be 526,000 in 2060, up from 213,000 in 2017. The study found a higher burden of type 2 diabetes among Black, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native youths by this time….