There has been an increasing incidence rate of adult onset diabetes among young adults aged 0-20 years over the past decade in the US. Public Health officials have set out on a 5-year, multicenter study called SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth in order to better help with the problem of increasing incidence rates. This form of active surveillance allows public health officials to examine the current status of diabetes among young adults in the US. As stated by the CDC, the "Childhood Diabetes Registry will study the prevalence, incidence, natural history, and quality of care of children with diabetes and will help identify future programs and interventions."
As determined by the CDC, over the past three decades, the percentage of the population among people aged 0-44 with diagnosed diabetes increased from 0.6% to 1.8% of the population, amounting to a total increase of 200%. Although the case count of diabetes is greater in people aged 65 and above, the percentage of the population with diagnosed diabetes is increasing fastest in those aged 0-44 years. Considering the total population (not differentiated by age), the incidence rate of diabetes over the past decade in US adults aged 18-79 years has greatly increased, as the number of new cases has gone from 1104 in 2000 to 1735 in 2010. However, more specifically, the rate of new cases of type 2 diabetes among young adults aged 10-20 years was 8.5 per 100,000 people in 2010.
Children diagnosed with adult onset diabetes are typically between 10 and 19 years of age, have a family history of diabetes, suffer from obesity, and have an insulin resistance of some sort. In addition, many young adults recently diagnosed with adult onset diabetes are among racial minorities (specifically, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian).
A direct indicator of an increase in incidence rates of type 2 diabetes among young adults is a noted increase in blood glucose level in young adults. As a symptom of diabetes is an increase in blood sugar, there is a direct correlation between glucose level and diabetes. Another direct indicator of an increase in incidence of type 2 diabetes is increased fatigue among high school students, as well as an increased frequency of urination in high school students. In addition, there are also indirect indicators of an increase in type 2 diabetes among young adults. For example, an increase in reliance on fast food restaurants among high school students will in turn cause obesity, which can lead to adult onset diabetes in the youth.
An increase in blood glucose level is a very good direct indicator of diabetes. This data is reported by physicians and public health officials, making it accurate and plausible. It is a strong, direct measure that is objective and accurate. However, an increase in fatigue and an increase in urination among high school students is a much weaker indicator. Information about fatigue and urination patterns is self-reported data on the part of many high school students, and the results of self-reported surveys may contain bias or falsehood. It is entirely dependent on teenagers' decisions to be truthful in answering survey questions. An increased dependence on fast food is another self-reported statistic, and therefore depends on how truthful teenagers are in answering survey questions.
