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MedEquity

Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes and Population Health

Population-level patterns in type 2 diabetes and the social and access factors researchers study alongside it.

PublishedPublished: 2026-10-18· Sources verified: 2026-10-18

Beginner explanation

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. CDC reports that more than 40 million Americans — about 1 in 8 — have diabetes, and that about 90% to 95% of them have type 2.[1]

In type 2 diabetes, cells stop responding normally to insulin (insulin resistance). The pancreas makes more insulin to compensate, but over time it cannot keep up, and blood sugar rises — first to prediabetes levels and then to type 2 diabetes.[1]

MedEquity note: Population health looks at type 2 diabetes across whole communities: who is affected, where, and which conditions surround it.

Key definitions

Insulin resistance
When the body’s cells do not respond normally to insulin.
Prediabetes
Higher-than-normal blood sugar that is not yet in the diabetes range; it raises the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Diagnosed vs undiagnosed diabetes
Surveys that ask whether someone has been told they have diabetes miss people who have it but have not been tested.
Prevalence
The share of a population that has a condition at a given time.

Sources[1, 3, 4]

Condition characteristics

Type 2 diabetes most often develops in people 45 or older, but more children, teens and young adults are developing it than in the past. Symptoms often develop over several years and may go unnoticed, or there may be none at all.[1]

High blood sugar damages the body over time and can lead to heart disease, vision loss and kidney disease. A simple blood test can show whether a person has diabetes.[1]

Risk factors

Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes share almost all the same risk factors: overweight or obesity, age 45 or older, a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes, physical activity less than 3 times a week, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and a history of gestational diabetes or of giving birth to a baby over 9 pounds.[2]

CDC also reports higher risk among African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native people, and among some Pacific Islander and Asian American people. Group-level differences describe populations; they do not determine any individual’s risk.[2]

Prediabetes is very common: CDC reports that more than 2 in 5 U.S. adults have it, and about 8 in 10 of them do not know.[3]

Prevention and public health context

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with proven lifestyle changes — losing weight if overweight, eating a healthy diet and getting regular physical activity. CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program offers a structured lifestyle change program for people with prediabetes.[1, 2]

Diabetes is the most costly health condition in the United States, according to CDC, accounting for 25% of all health care spending — one reason prevention is a public health priority.[3]

Texas data context

MedEquity maps diagnosed diabetes and obesity among adults from CDC PLACES. Both are modeled estimates based on self-reported survey answers. Poverty is planned as a context indicator from the American Community Survey but is not yet verified, so it is not shown.[5]

Be careful when reading patterns across counties. CDC notes that the PLACES model itself uses age, race or ethnicity, sex, education and poverty to generate its estimates, and advises caution when analysing PLACES estimates alongside those characteristics. A county-level correlation also cannot show that one factor causes another in individuals.[6]

Related measures on the Explore map

Advanced material (optional)

The number of U.S. adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled in the last 20 years, according to CDC.[3]

MedEquity note: Diagnosed prevalence can rise both because more people develop diabetes and because more people are tested, so a rise in diagnoses alone does not tell us which is happening.

CDC’s National Diabetes Statistics Report estimated that 27.6% of adults with diabetes were undiagnosed in 2023.[4]

MedEquity note: Places where fewer people see a health professional may therefore show lower diagnosed prevalence than their true burden.

References

  1. Type 2 Diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/about/about-type-2-diabetes.html (accessed 2026-10-18).
  2. Diabetes Risk Factors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/risk-factors/index.html (accessed 2026-10-18).
  3. Diabetes Basics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/about/index.html (accessed 2026-10-18).
  4. National Diabetes Statistics Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/php/data-research/index.html (accessed 2026-10-18).
  5. PLACES Measure Definitions: Health Outcomes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/places/measure-definitions/health-outcomes.html (accessed 2026-10-18).
  6. PLACES: Frequently Asked Questions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/places/faqs/index.html (accessed 2026-10-18).
MedEquity provides general education, not diagnosis or treatment advice. For personal health questions, consult a qualified health professional. In an emergency, call 911.