Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
The Issue
About 84 million Americans age 18 years or older have prediabetes, and 30.3 million individuals have diabetes. Among those with diabetes, approximately 95 percent have type 2 diabetes — a condition that can be prevented or delayed with lifestyle changes. People with diabetes and prediabetes are at higher risk for developing other serious health problems, including heart disease and stroke.
Total direct and indirect costs for diabetes in the United States in 2017 were estimated at $327 billion.
CDC’s 6|18 Initiative In Action
Learn about interventions happening across the country. Learn more »
Plan an Evidence-Based Intervention
Following is the intervention to prevent type 2 diabetes identified by the CDC as having a proven evidence base for improving health outcomes and controlling health care costs:
- Expand access to the National Diabetes Prevention Program (the National DPP), which supports a year-long lifestyle change program to prevent or delay onset of type 2 diabetes in people with prediabetes or at high risk for type 2 diabetes.
Evidence Summary: Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Download the CDC’s evidence summary that outlines key cost and health information for payers and providers, as well as demonstrated outcomes for each of the above interventions.
Explore Implementation Resources
The following resources can help payers, state officials, and providers implement high-opportunity type 2 diabetes prevention interventions. Does your state/program have resources to share? Send an email to 618@chcs.org.
See also CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program web page.
- National Diabetes Prevention Program Coverage Toolkit – Online toolkit offers states, health care payers, providers, and other stakeholders detailed guidance to assist in implementation and coverage of the National Diabetes Prevention Program. (National Association of Chronic Disease Directors and Leavitt Partners)
- Prediabetes Awareness Campaign Toolkit – Website helps those with prediabetes know where they stand to prevent type 2 diabetes. The American Medical Association and the CDC partnered with the Ad Council to launch this first national campaign about prediabetes.
- Diabetes Dashboards: State Examples and Best Practices – Dashboard provides examples of state efforts to track select measures associated with diabetes. It also shares best practices for developing public-facing dashboards. (State Health Access Data Assistance Center, June 2018)
- Making a Case for Coverage in Medicaid – Section of the National Diabetes Prevention Program Toolkit developed for public health professionals to provide guidance for working with their Medicaid colleagues to make the case to cover the National Diabetes Prevention Program. (National Association of Chronic Disease Directors and Leavitt Partners, February 2018)
- Performance Improvement Projects Related to CDC’s 6|18 Initiative: A Scan of External Quality Review Organization Reports – Report provides a scan of External Quality Review Organization (EQRO) technical reports that included performance improvement projects related to: controlling asthma, preventing diabetes, controlling high blood pressure, and reducing tobacco use. It can help states more strategically partner with Medicaid MCOs on prevention-related activities by learning from other states’ efforts. (SHADAC, June 2018)
- Novel Methods and Data Sources for Surveillance of State-Level Diabetes and Prediabetes Prevalence – This article outlines a method for adjusting survey and other data to produce state-level estimates of diabetes and prediabetes prevalence. (CDC, 2017)
