Prevalence of glycemic control and use of diabetes technology lowest in Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, Medicaid-insured
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Aug. 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) — From 2009 to 2023, there was an increase in use of diabetes technology and in glycemic control among youths and adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to a study published online Aug. 11 in JAMA Network Open.
Michael Fang, Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues characterized trends and disparities in glycemic control and use of diabetes technology among U.S. youths and adults with T1D in a serial, cross-sectional analysis using the Optum Labs Data Warehouse.
A total of 186,590 participants with T1D were identified: 26,853 youths (mean age, 12 years) and 159,737 adults (mean age, 45 years). The researchers found an increase in the prevalence of glycemic control (mean hemoglobin A1c <7 percent) from the 2009-2011 to 2021-2023 study periods from 7 to 19 percent in youths and from 21 to 28 percent in adults. During the same period, for youths and adults, there were substantial increases in the percentage of patients using continuous glucose monitoring (4 to 82 percent for youths and 5 to 57 percent for adults); insulin pumps (16 to 50 percent for youths and 11 to 29 percent for adults); and both devices concurrently (1 to 47 percent for youths and 1 to 22 percent for adults). In Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and Medicaid-insured youths and adults, the prevalence of glycemic control and use of diabetes technology were lowest; over time, differences persisted or increased.
“Improving glucose control in patients with type 1 diabetes has been challenging, so these big increases are exciting for the field,” Fang said in a statement. “These improvements have likely been driven by the widespread adoption of new monitoring and delivery technologies.”
Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
