Diabetes Death Rates in the U.S. Reach Lowest Levels in Years Amid Pandemic Recovery

According to new preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of deaths caused by diabetes in the United States has decreased to some of the lowest levels seen in recent years. As of the third quarter of 2024, the report shows a rate of 26.4 deaths per 100,000 people, a notable reduction from the higher mortality rates observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, diabetes death rates peaked at 31.1 per 100,000 people, making it the eighth leading cause of death that year. Experts believe the pandemic's influence contributed to this rise, as individuals with underlying conditions like diabetes faced increased risks of severe illness, hospitalization, and premature death due to COVID-19. Christopher Holliday, head of the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation, commented that the pandemic presented challenges in managing diabetes, including disruptions to physical activity and healthcare.

While the current rates of diabetes-related deaths show improvement from 2021, they remain higher than those from before the pandemic. In 2021, there were over 103,000 diabetes-related fatalities, a significant rise from approximately 87,600 in 2019. The provisional data for the previous year recorded around 94,000 deaths from diabetes.

Historically, diabetes death rates had been on a decline before the pandemic, despite an increase in diabetes cases. New treatment options, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, have also emerged but only recently gained traction. By 2023, nearly one in ten adults were reported to have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Experts point out that understanding long-term trends in diabetes-related mortality is complicated. Changes in disease classification over the years and different approaches to documenting diabetes on death certificates contribute to this complexity. Notably, many death certificates list diabetes as a contributing factor rather than the primary cause of death, which may complicate mortality statistics. Elizabeth Selvin, a director at Johns Hopkins, noted that death records primarily reflect cardiovascular issues rather than diabetes itself, underscoring the need for careful interpretation of these data trends.