Nearly 12 percent of Chinese adults have diabetes, and the prevalence of prodromal diabetes is about 50 percent, according to a study based on a nationally representative sample of adults in 2010, according to a study published Sept. 4 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Scholars from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and other researchers involved in the 2010 China Noncommunicable Disease Surveillance Project conducted a study to investigate the prevalence of diabetes and glycemic control in the Chinese adult population. The researchers used a multistage, probability sampling design to conduct a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of 98,658 adult Chinese in 2010. Plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1c concentrations were measured in all study participants after an overnight fast of at least 10 hours; those who did not report a history of confirmed diabetes underwent a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test. Diabetes and antecedent diabetes were defined according to the 2010 American Diabetes Association criteria; and hemoglobin A1c concentrations <7.0% were considered adequate glycemic control. The researchers found that the overall prevalence of diabetes in the Chinese adult population was estimated to be 11.6 percent; 12.1 percent in men and 11.0 percent in women, with an estimated 8.1 percent prevalence of newly detected diabetes. "The prevalence of diabetes was higher in both male and female urban residents than in rural male and female residents. In addition, the incidence of diabetes increases with age in both men and women; men younger than 50 years of age have a higher incidence, while women older than 60 years of age also have a higher incidence. In addition, the prevalence of diabetes increases with economic development and increases among those who are overweight and have obesity." The prevalence of antecedent diabetes among Chinese adults is estimated at 50.1%: 52.1% for men and 48.1% for women. Rural residents have a slightly higher prevalence of prodromal diabetes than urban residents, especially men. In addition, the prevalence of prodromal diabetes was higher in less economically developed areas and in overweight and obese populations. The authors also found that for the Chinese population as a whole, the percentage of diabetics who knew their status was 30.1%. Only 25.8 percent of all diabetics were treated for diabetes, and of those who were treated, only 39.7 percent had their blood sugar properly controlled. These data suggest that diabetes may have reached an alarming level for the Chinese population as a whole, and that without an effective nationwide intervention, China may experience a pandemic of diabetes-related complications, including cardiovascular disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease, in the near future," the researchers wrote. " These findings demonstrate the importance of treating diabetes as a public health issue in China. The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly in recent decades, and it has now reached epidemic proportions in China, where the prevalence of diabetes was less than 1% of the population in 1980. In the next national surveys conducted in 1994 and 2000-2001, the prevalence of diabetes was 2.5% and 5.5%, respectively. The most recent national survey was conducted in 2007, which reported a prevalence of 9.7%. According to the latest epidemiological survey, China's diabetic population will be far larger than any other country in the world, with a huge impact on the health of its citizens and the economic burden on the country. We hope that all Chinese citizens, maintain good habits, reduce gorging, increase exercise, and screen their blood sugar regularly to reduce the risk of diabetes.