Chart Review: Rising Demand For Insulin Among The Youth

Josee Farmer, Health Care Policy Intern

Since 2008, diabetes incidence rates among adults – individuals 18 and older – have steadily decreased. In contrast, incidence rates among the youth – those 20 years and younger – of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have steadily increased from 2002-2015, according to a recently released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. This study uses data from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth, which represents roughly 69 million individuals. The study found a 1.9 percent annual increase in youth type 1 incidence rates and a 4.8 percent annual increase in youth type 2 incidence rates. These increases in diabetes incidence equate to an increasing future demand for insulin – and with more years left to live, the youth will demand insulin for a longer span of time than new adult diabetics. While incidence rates remain much lower among the youth than among adults, the rising demand from this demographic ensures that concerns over the cost of insulin will not fade, as the need is not going away.

All data obtained from the CDC
Note: incidence rate identifies new cases in one year

https://www.americanactionforum.org/weekly-checkup/the-real-cost-of-berniecare/#ixzz6FGKWxRyE
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