Prediabetes in American children has more than doubled

Rates of prediabetes in American children have more than doubled in the last 20 years, according to a new study published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Using the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018, the authors concluded that prediabetes rates in children ages 12 to 19 went from 11.6% to 28.6%.

The CDC defines prediabetes as a medical condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal — but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

Approximately 96 million Americans have prediabetes, but more than 80% of people don’t know they have it, according to the CDC.

Study author Junxiu Liu, an assistant professor of population, health science and policy at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, told CNN that an intervention is needed.

“If we do not intervene, the children who have prediabetes have a higher risk of developing diabetes and also have a higher risk of all cardiovascular diseases,” Dr. Liu said.

The study did not explain why prediabetes rates have skyrocketed, and Dr. Liu said that’s a question that future research should answer.