Nearly half of California adults either prediabetic or undiagnosed, UCLA study says

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A study conducted by UCLA revealed that almost half of California adults have either prediabetes or undiagnosed diabetes.

Researchers found that 13 million, or 46 percent, of adults in California have prediabetes or the disease is undiagnosed. They also found that 2.5 million, or 33 percent, of young adults ranging in age from 18 to 39 have prediabetes.

The study, which was done with 40,000 respondents, showed that both groups represent about 15.5 million people, or 55 percent of the state's population.

Prediabetes is a condition that elevates blood sugar levels, but does not make the levels high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

When broken down by race and ethnicity, the study showed that rates among young people in minority groups were higher than among whites. Pacific Islanders stats were at 43 percent, African Americans at 38 percent, American Indians at 38 percent, multiracial Californians at 37 percent, Latinos at 36 percent, and Asians at 31 percent. White young adults were only 29 percent.

Diabetes is one of the nation's fastest-growing diseases, according to the study. In California alone, the rate has increased by 35 percent since 2001. As many as 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes within five years, and at least 70 percent will develop the disease over their lifetime.

The study was conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and was commissioned by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.