Type 2 diabetes

Around 3% of adults in England have diagnosed diabetes. However, it is estimated that around half of diabetes cases may be undiagnosed, putting the total prevalence at around 6% of adults. Cases of type 2 are certainly rising and occurring at younger ages.

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes confers a two to four-fold greater risk of coronary heart disease among men and a three to five-fold increased risk among women.

Diabetes also magnifies the effect of raised cholesterol levels, raised blood pressure, smoking and obesity and so influences coronary heart disease risk indirectly. Overweight is the main cause of type 2 diabetes (poor diet - in itself - does not cause diabetes), and diabetes is influenced by diet and physical activity.

Trends in type 2 diabetes

Since 1991, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has increased by 65% among men and by 25% among women.

It's estimated that by 2010, there will be two million people with diagnosed diabetes in the UK (compared with around 1.35 million currently). Around 85% of cases will be type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes and age

The proportion of people with diabetes increases with age, from less than 1% of men aged 15-44 years with diagnosed diabetes rising to around 9% of men aged 75 years and over. This pattern is similar in women, although rates are lower at most ages than for men.

There is increasing concern about the number of children with type 2 diabetes. This has risen tenfold in the past five years, according to Bristol University research published in 2006. A record 100 new cases in children under age-16 were diagnosed in the UK between 2004 and 2005. This study used data from GPs surgeries. A further 60,000 children are thought to be suffering from weight-related metabolic syndrome - a combination of conditions including high blood pressure and raised cholesterol - which is thought to precede type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes and social class

The prevalence of diabetes appears to be higher amongst low socio-economic groups, with a 36% higher prevalence noted amongst men living in the most deprived areas of England and Wales compared with those living in the most affluent areas. For women the prevalence amongst those living in the most deprived areas is 80% higher than amongst those living in the least deprived parts.

Type 2 diabetes and ethnicity

Rates of diabetes are much higher amongst some minority ethnic communities than in the general population. In Pakistani and Bangladeshi adults, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes is at least three times that in the general population. For Black Caribbean men and women, the prevalence is two and half times as high and four times as high, respectively, as that found in the general population.

Also see Related conditions section