About 8.8 percent of the privately insured population in 2012 had diabetes or was diagnosed as being at high risk for diabetes, up from 8.3 percent in 2011, but the rates of disease varied depending on age, gender and region of the country, says a new report from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI). In 2012, over one quarter of men between the ages of 55 and 64 and nearly one in 10 Southerners had diabetes or were at high risk for diabetes, according to the report.
HCCI analyzed the health care claims of over 40 million Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) from 2008 to 2012, and examine subpopulations by age, gender, and region. HCCI identified individuals with "diabetes" as those diagnosed with diabetes and those at high risk for developing diabetes (diagnosed with gestational diabetes or pre-diabetes).
"This is the first time we've used our repository of claims data to track the prevalence of chronic disease among the privately insured," said David Newman, Executive Director of HCCI. "While using claims data for public health surveillance purposes has some limitations, it provides a timely way to track emerging trends and can inform policymakers, providers, and patients alike."
Here are key findings from the report:
The report is available on The Health Care Cost Institute website at: http://www.healthcostinstitute.org/issue-brief-diabetes
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