Nearly 12% of adults in China have diabetes

CHICAGO – A study based on a nationally representative sample of adults in China in 2010 indicates that nearly 12% of Chinese adults had diabetes and the prevalence of prediabetes was about 50%, according to a study in the September 4 issue of JAMA.

“Noncommunicable chronic diseases have become the leading causes of mortality and disease burden worldwide. It was estimated that 34.5 million deaths globally were due to noncommunicable diseases in 2010, which reflected a significant increase from 1990. Mortality from diabetes doubled during this period and increased to 1.3 million deaths worldwide in 2010. In addition, diabetes is a major risk factor for ischemic heart disease and stroke, which collectively killed an estimated 12.9 million people globally in 2010,” according to background information in the article. 

“The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly in recent decades and is now reaching epidemic proportions in China. The prevalence of diabetes was less than 1 percent in the Chinese population in 1980. In subsequent national surveys conducted in 1994 and 2000-2001, the prevalence of diabetes was 2.5% and 5.5%, respectively. The most recent national survey in 2007 reported that the prevalence of diabetes was 9.7%, representing an estimated 92.4 million adults in China with diabetes.”

Yu Xu, Ph.D., of the Shanghai Jiao-Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, and colleagues with the 2010 China Noncommunicable Disease Surveillance Group, conducted a study to investigate the prevalence of diabetes and glycemic control in the Chinese adult population. Using a multistage, probability sampling design, the researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey in a nationally representative sample of 98,658 Chinese adults in 2010. Plasma glucose and hemoglobin A_1c levels were measured after at least a 10-hour overnight fast among all study participants, and a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test was conducted among participants without a self-reported history of diagnosed diabetes. Diabetes and prediabetes were defined according to the 2010 American Diabetes Association criteria; whereas, a hemoglobin A_1c level of <7.0% was considered adequate glycemic control.

The researchers found that the overall prevalence of diabetes was estimated to be 11.6% in the Chinese adult population; 12.1% in men, and 11.0% in women, with an estimated prevalence of 8.1% for newly detected diabetes. “The prevalence of diabetes was higher in urban than in rural residents in both men and women. Furthermore, diabetes prevalence increased with age in both men and women, and men younger than 50 years had a higher prevalence, whereas women older than 60 years had a higher prevalence. In addition, the prevalence of diabetes increased with economic development, as well as in overweight and obese persons.”

The estimated prevalence of prediabetes was 50.1% in Chinese adults: 52.1% in men and 48.1% in women. Rural residents had slightly higher prevalence of prediabetes than did urban residents, especially in men. Additionally, prediabetes was more prevalent in economically underdeveloped regions, as well as in overweight and obese persons.

The authors also found that the proportion of patients with diabetes who were aware of their condition was 30.1% among the Chinese general population. Only 25.8% of overall patients with diabetes were treated for this condition, and only 39.7% of those treated haNike React Element