Infographic – Highest Diabetes Rates in U.S.

Click on image for full-size view (Statista)

25 May 2019. Diabetes is a continuing public health problem in the U.S. and around the world, drawing a lot of attention from biomedical researchers and companies spun off from their labs. Our friends at Statista published a map yesterday showing the states in the U.S. with the highest rates of diabetes, this weekend’s infographic.

Diabetes is a chronic disorder where the pancreas does not create enough insulin to process the sugar glucose to flow into the blood stream and cells for energy in the body. In type 2 diabetes, which accounts for at least 90 percent of all diabetes cases, the pancreas produces some but not enough insulin, or the body cannot process insulin. According to the International Diabetes Federation, diabetes affects an estimated 425 million people worldwide, of which 46 million are in North America.

Statista’s map uses data from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show among the 50 states, the highest percentages of the population with diabetes — indicated by surveys of residents in 2017 who say their doctors told them they have the disease — are generally in the South and around the Great Lakes. The Mountain West region has generally the lowest rates, along with Alaska, Minnesota, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The American jurisdiction with the highest percentage of diabetes is not on the map: Some 17 percent of Puerto Rico residents say they have diabetes, while West Virginia reports 15 percent.

More from Science & Enterprise:

• Closed-Loop System Boosts Diabetes Glucose Control
• Apps Shown to Reduce Blood Pressure, Detect Diabetes
• Trial Shows RNA Therapy Safe for Diabetes

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