Younger diabetics are lacking access to medical care, compared to older people who suffer from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said.
The CDC report found that 19 percent of young American adults, aged 18 to 39, with diabetes had not visited with a medical professional in the last six months. Patients in this group were also less likely to have undergone a blood pressure or cholesterol check in the last 12 months than older people.
"In the younger age group where the information might be more valuable for preventing problems, not enough people pay attention to blood pressure and cholesterol levels," Gerald Bernstein, director of the Diabetes Management Program at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York, said.
The American Diabetes Association currently recommends that diabetics visit a doctor twice a year, in order to properly manage their blood sugar. Patients who exhibit unstable glucose levels should visit a physician even more often, the group recommends.
Examination was made of medical records of 3,600 American adults with diabetes, in order to determine how often diabetics of various ages visited physicians. The study revealed that 93 percent of diabetics aged 65 or older visited a doctor in the last six months. That number dropped to 89 percent of people between the ages of 40 and 64, and 81 percent among people 18 to 39.
The CDC estimates that roughly nine percent of adult Americans have some form of diabetes. The vast majority of these cases, about 95 percent, are type two diabetes, which is often brought on by obesity. The other form of the disease, type one, are marked by the inability of the pancreas to produce enough insulin, and is usually diagnosed in childhood. The condition was previously known as juvenile diabetes.
"Retinal [eye] damage and nerve damage to the feet are diabetes-related complications that contribute to major [illness] and disability among adults with diabetes," CDC officials reported.
The CDC states that regular visits to a physician can allow healthcare professionals a chance to spot such complications before they become serious. The use of insulin to help control the disease also became more common with age. Just 13.5 percent of seniors did not take any drugs to control their condition, as did 28.8 percent of the youngest people in the study.
"Ongoing risk-reduction medical care services for persons with diabetes may favorably impact health outcomes and quality of life in later years ," the CDC reported.
Study of medical care among diabetics of varying ages was presented in a data brief published by the CDC.
