While the rate of diabetes has increased in males and females of every age, the condition's presence is biggest in the elderly population, according to a CBS affiliate in Arkansas.
More than 20 percent of people over the age of 60 have diabetes, report the National Institutes of Health. About 2.5 percent of people ages 20 to 39 suffer from the condition.
Elderly individuals could reportedly be more susceptible to diabetes because some don't exercise regularly. Today, men and women in general are at a higher risk of developing the condition because the recession has made it difficult to see a doctor for some, says the news source.
The Mayo Clinic says sufferers of diabetes have too much glucose in their blood and this can lead to serious health problems. Individuals with prediabetes, a reversible condition, have elevated blood sugar levels that are not high enough to be considered diabetes, but could become more serious if untreated.
CBS says that if the current diabetes trend continues, 53 percent of the elderly population will have the condition by 2025.
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