ATLANTA (Reuters Health) - Type 2 diabetes cases rose a striking 6% among US adults in 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The new report, published in the February issue of Diabetes Care, follows a previous study published in September showing that from 1990 to 1998, type 2 diabetes rose a staggering 33% among US adults (from 4.9% to 6.5% overall).

"This dramatic new evidence signals the unfolding of an epidemic in the United States," CDC Director Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan said in a written statement. "If these dangerous trends continue at the current rates, the impact on our nation's health and medical care costs in the future will be overwhelming," Dr. Koplan warns.

Diabetes rates closely parallel the rise in obesity in the US, according to the CDC. "The prevalence of obesity increased significantly from 17.9% in 1998 to 18.9% in 1999, an increase of 5.6% in one year and 57% from 1991," CDC researchers note.

"We expect diabetes rates to keep rising for a while," Dr. Ali H. Mokdad with the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion told Reuters Health. "We've seen a tremendous increase in obesity in the '90s--that's why we're now seeing an increase in diabetes," he said.

According to the 1999 data, derived from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-based telephone survey of the US adult population, diabetes rates increased in every category examined.

"Prevalence increased among both women (7.4% to 7.6%) and men (5.5% to 6.0%) and among all ethnic groups, including whites (5.9% to 6.2%), blacks (8.9% to 9.9%), Hispanics (7.7% to 8.0%) and all others (6.6% to 7.7%)," note CDC researchers.

"Obesity is no longer a cosmetic issue, but a risk factor for serious illness," Dr. Mokdad said. "We need to change our behaviors to reduce many of the chronic diseases we are facing, not only diabetes."

　　By Emma Patten-Hitt
　　From Reutershealth.com