Diabetes

Diabetes prevalence in Minnesota adults:

Diabetes prevalence in working-age Minnesota adults:

Diabetes has steadily risen in Minnesota

The prevalence of diabetes among Minnesota adults increased steadily through 2010. While trends are less clear for 2011 to 2013, diabetes prevalence is at a new high.

This chart shows age-adjusted percent to allow comparison across time. As of 2021, 7.9% of Minnesota adults were living with diabetes. Many cases are diagnosed each year, for example, an estimated 24,000 new cases were diagnosed in 2018.

Older adults are more likely to have diabetes. Some risk factors for diabetes, like physical inactivity and being overweight or obese, tend to increase with age. Losing weight and getting more physical activity can help to reduce the risk of developing diabetes or diabetes-related complications.

Diabetes is related to income and employment status

Much of the increase in diabetes prevalence has been among Minnesotans 45-64 years of age. To understand how income, employment, and diabetes are associated, it is important to look at working age adults (age 18 to 64). Patterns between income and diabetes might be different for working age adults compared to adults 65 and older. The financial situations of adults 65 and older may be different due to retirement, social security, and more uniform access to health care. Also, age is strongly associated with diabetes.

In Minnesota, there is an economic disparity in diabetes prevalence among working-age adults. Over 9% of working-age people who live in households earning less than $35,000 per year have diabetes, compared to only 5.9% of working age people in households that earn more than $35,000 per year.

About 1 in 4 adults in Minnesota lives in a household that earns less than $35,000 per year. People of color are more likely to live in poverty. For more information, see Poverty and Income.

The percentage of working-age adults living with diabetes is much higher among those who are out of work or unable to work, compared to those who are employed. Only 5.1% of people who are employed have diabetes, but 21.2% of people who are unable to work and 8.6% of people who are out of work have diabetes.

These data represent a snapshot in time. They cannot tell us if unemployment or low income leads to diabetes, or if diabetes leads to lower income or unemployment. For more information, see About the diabetes data.

 

See also:

Related topics: