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Cross-sectional data from two National Health and Nutrition Surveys (1976–1980 and 1999–2004) indicate that the prevalence of diabetes in U.S. adults has more than doubled since 1976 (from 4.7% to 11.2%). Using this database, researchers determined the extent to which this rising prevalence is explained by demographic factors and obesity rates in a nationally representative sample of 23,932 participants.
Among men, adjustment for age, race and ethnicity, and body-mass index (BMI) blunted the increasing prevalence by about half, implying that these variables account for only about half of the rise. Among women, adjustment for demographic factors and BMI eliminated the increase in prevalence, implying that those factors entirely explained the …