As public health issues go, diabetes is both one of the most common and most costly to our medical system: 11.3 percent of Americans are diabetic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Regulators, and the largely private American health care system, have been incapable of controlling the costs of insulin, particularly for people under 65. Diabetes' toll on American lifespans and quality of life is staggering, and despite hopes that the crisis is treatable, data shows things trending in the opposite direction. In fact, a recent report from the CDC reveals that childhood diabetes rates are rising so fast that they are expected to increase by 60% by 2060.
According to a mathematical model created by the CDC, the number of youths who have diabetes will increase from 213,000 in 2017 to 239,000 in 2060 as long as current trends continue. The incidence remains constant as observed in 2017. This includes a 3 percent increase for type 1 diabetes and a 69 percent increase for type 2 diabetes. They also projected that, if the trends observed within the period from 2002 to 2017 continue, the growth will be even greater: 526,000 youths will have diabetes, including 306,000 with type 1 diabetes and 220,000 with type 2 diabetes.
