Objective: To examine trends and prevalence of lean diabetes among adults in the U.S. from 2015 to 2020, overall and stratified by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
Research design and methods: An exploratory study design evaluated the prevalence and trends of lean diabetes among 2,630,463 (unweighted) adults aged ≥18 years who responded to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), years 2015 to 2020.
Results: Diabetes increased significantly among lean adults with BMI of <25 kg/m2 from 4.5% (95% CI 4.3-4.7) in 2015 to 5.3% (95% CI 5.0-5.7) in 2020, representing a 17.8% increase (odds ratio 1.21; 95% CI 1.12-1.31), with no significant change among overweight/obese adults. Increases in diabetes prevalence among lean adults varied by subgroup with Black, Hispanic, and female populations seeing the largest growth.
Conclusions: The prevalence of lean diabetes among the U.S. adult population is increasing, with larger increases among women and populations of color.
© 2023 by the American Diabetes Association.