Prevalence Rates and Racial disparities in undiagnosed pre-diabetes in the US population: Evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey of 2007-08

Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2007-2008, this paper presents estimates of the burden of undiagnosed pre-diabetes and racial disparities of the same in the US population. The true burden of undiagnosed pre-diabetes is found to be considerably more than the numbers estimated by the American Diabetes Association. Men are found to be more likely to have undiagnosed pre-diabetes. Prevalence rates vary considerably between different racial, gender, and age groups. There is no strong evidence that systematic racial disparities exist. There is weak evidence that members of the minority communities may have slightly lower likelihood of suffering from undiagnosed prediabetes compared to non-Hispanic whites. This evidence is more pronounced for men than for women. Higher prevalence of undiagnosed pre-diabetes among minorities especially in the early stages of lives may be partially responsible for overall racial disparities in diabetes in the country. Stopping 50% of the undiagnosed pre-diabetes cases from developing into diabetes will save US over $600 billion in current dollars.