The descriptive epidemiology of type 2 diabetes in the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2021

Purpose To provide contemporary estimates of the incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the UK. Methods Data from UK primary care (CPRD) were analyzed using an automated, analytical platform that produces validated, rapid analytics–Livingstone. Results We selected 1,125,028 people with type 2 diabetes (44.7% female). The crude incidence was stable. In 2004 the incidence rate was 4.18 cases per 1,000 people, reducing to 4.13/1,000 in 2021. There was a shift in age-specific incidence to earlier age-groups. The crude prevalence showed a marked increase, rising from 2.95% to 5.41%, levelling off slightly in later years. Increases in prevalence were observed in all groups. Northern Ireland consistently had the lowest prevalence, and Wales had a notably higher prevalence, increasing from 3.71% in 2004 to 6.37%. The mean age at diagnosis decreased in females by 5.5 years to 58.5 years, and by 2.5 years in men, to 58.8 years. Conclusions The incidence of type 2 diabetes was largely stable over 20 years but there were changes over time in age-specific groups resulting from a shift to earlier onset or earlier diagnosis. The shift to earlier diagnosis was far more pronounced in women than in men. Prevalence increased markedly, but the rate of increase appeared to be leveling-off a little. There were notable differences in the epidemiology of type 2 diabetes between the four constituent countries of the UK. The number of younger people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes remains a concern. Guarantor Craig Currie is the guarantor of this work and, as such, had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.