Diabetes and Public Health in the United States

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Abstract
Diabetes mellitus (DM) in the United States is a chronic disease epidemic. Further, the rate of increase in the prevalence of diabetes, year to year, is increasing, and the onset of diabetes is at ever younger ages, with prevalence of type 2 diabetes now increasing at greatest rates among people in their 30s. Should the epidemic of type 2 DM increase, even at its present rate, it is projected that there will be approximately 30 million persons with known DM in the United States by 2050. In essence, there will be more people with diabetes who have a longer duration of disease, with the devastating complications and associated morbidity, mortality, impaired quality of life, and costs; and this could increase substantially during the next two decades. The rise in prevalence observed in the United States is also happening throughout the world, and all countries can anticipate increasing challenges associated with DM.