Increasing prevalence of diabetes in middle or low income residents in Louisiana from 2000 to 2009

ObjectiveTo examine the trends in the prevalence of diabetes in patients who received medical care from the Louisiana State University Health Care Services Division (LSUHCSD) hospital system between 2000 and 2009.MethodsThe study population included 969,609 unique outpatients and inpatients between 2000 and 2009. The diabetes cases were identified by using ICD-9 code (250*). The annual diabetes prevalence was calculated as the number of unique individuals with an ICD-9 diabetes during the year divided by the number of unique individuals visiting the LSUHCSD hospitals during the year.ResultsThe age-standardized prevalence of diabetes in LSUHCSC hospital patients aged ≥20 years increased by 36.2% during 2000–2009, from 10.5% to 14.3%. The rise in age-standardized prevalence of diabetes from 2000 to 2009 occurred in men (from 8.9% to 13.3%) and women (from 11.5% to 15.0%), and in white (from 8.9% to 13.1%), African (from 11.7% to 15.8%) and other race Americans (from 8.2% to 10.4%). The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes was higher in women than in men (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe annual prevalence of diabetes has dramatically increased from 2000 to 2009 in both men and women and in all races of the population served by the LSUHCSD hospitals.