About Prediabetes & Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the United States—and studies show that deaths related to diabetes may be under-reported! Today, 1 in 10 U.S. adults has diabetes, and if trends continue, 1 in 5 will have it by 2025.

An additional 86 million U.S. adults—1 in 3—have prediabetes, which means their blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. Without intervention, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years, which puts them at risk of serious health problems, including:

• Heart attack
• Stoke
• Blindness
• Kidney failure
• Loss of toes, feet, or legs

Learn more:
Infographics
National Diabetes Statistics Report

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Type 2 diabetes affects millions of individuals and their families, workplaces, and the U.S. health care system. In 2012, the total cost of care for people with diagnosed diabetes was $245 billion, up 41% over a 5-year period. More than 1 in 5 health care dollars is spent on people with diagnosed diabetes. The majority of expenses are related to hospitalizations and medications used to treat complications of diabetes.

People diagnosed with diabetes incur on average $13,700 annually in medical expenses. That’s about 2.3 times the medical expenses of a person without diabetes. The need to prevent type 2 diabetes has never been greater.

To help employers, insurers, and state health departments weigh the costs and benefits of offering National DPP lifestyle change programs, CDC has developed the Diabetes Prevention Impact Toolkit. Check it out!

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Having prediabetes means your blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal—but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Prediabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. Prediabetes can often be reversed.

With type 2 diabetes, your body cannot properly use insulin (a hormone that helps glucose get into the cells of the body). You can get type 2 diabetes at any age, but you are at higher risk if you are older, overweight, have a family history of diabetes, are not physically active, or are a woman who had gestational diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is a kind of diabetes that some women get when they are pregnant. Even if a woman’s blood sugar levels go down after her baby is born, she is at higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes later in life.

With type 1 diabetes, your body cannot make insulin, so you need to take insulin every day. Type 1 diabetes is less common than type 2 diabetes; about 5% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.

Check out our Infographics.

To learn more about the basics of diabetes and prediabetes, visit CDC’s Diabetes website.

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If you have these risk factors, you may be at higher risk than others for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

• You are overweight.
• You are 45 years of age or older.
• Your parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.
• You are physically active fewer than 3 times per week.
• You ever gave birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds.
• You ever had diabetes while pregnant (gestational diabetes).

Race and ethnicity also affect your risk. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and some Asian Americans are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes.

Find out if you are at risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Take our online quiz or print off a prediabetes screening test [PDF-757KB].

If you are at risk, talk to a health care professional about getting a blood sugar test.

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A number of factors increase a person’s risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, including being overweight, not being physically active, and having a family history of diabetes. 

A person’s race or ethnicity also can increase their risk for diabetes. Following are the percentage of people in the United States with diagnosed diabetes from 2010 to 2012 among people aged 20 or older, by race and ethnicity:

• American Indian/Alaska Natives – 15.9%
• Non-Hispanic blacks – 13.2%
• Hispanics – 12.8%
• Asian Americans – 9.0%
• Non-Hispanic whites –  7.6%

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Don’t let the “pre” in prediabetes fool you into thinking it’s not really a problem now. You can take action right away to help prevent prediabetes from becoming type 2 diabetes. You can also reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke associated with prediabetes.

Many people with prediabetes who do not change their lifestyle—by losing weight (if needed) and being more physically active—will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years. Type 2 diabetes can lead to serious health issues such as:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Blindness
• Kidney failure
• Loss of toes, feet, or legs

In addition, some of the risk factors for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes—like being overweight and not being physically active—can make you feel sluggish and affect your mood. Positive lifestyle changes not only lower your risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, they can improve your overall well-being and the well-being of your family.

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If you have prediabetes, join a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program. It can help you lose weight, become more active, and prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. To learn more about diabetes prevention, visit Research-Based Prevention Program.

Ready to make a change? Go to Find a Program to get started today!  

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