Diabetes Rising Rapidly in China

Researchers in China estimated that 9.7 percent (92.4 million) of Chinese adults had diabetes, and an additional 15.5 percent (148.2 million) had prediabetes during 2007 and 2008. The China National Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Study looked at 46,239 adults in a wide range of provinces and municipalities. Previous surveys showed diabetes to affect approximately 3 percent of the population in 1994, and 5 percent in 2000 and 2001.

Urban populations had the highest risk of diabetes; urbanization in developing countries is associated with Westernized diets, physical inactivity, and obesity. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in China.