Diabetes care: most adults get a diagnosis and treatment within a year

Most people whose blood test shows diabetes get a diagnosis and treatment within a year. A national study found that about two in three did. The rest are a group worth knowing about, because the gaps in diabetes care are easy to close when you know your own numbers.

Here is the useful part. A blood test is only the first step. After that, the result has to be noticed, written down as a diagnosis and followed by a plan. The study looked at where that chain sometimes slips.

How the study worked

Researchers used US insurance claims from commercial plans and Medicare, from 2017 to 2023, linked to lab results. They followed 27,650 adults for one year. All had a lab test that confirmed diabetes, and none had a diabetes or prediabetes diagnosis before. The work was published on Oct. 5, 2026, in Diabetes Care. Insurance claims capture billed care only, so things like advice about food and exercise would not show up.

What they found

About two in three adults (66.6%) got both a diagnosis code and medicine within a year. Another 19.7% got a diagnosis but no medicine yet. A small group, 4.1%, got medicine without a diagnosis code. And 9.6% had neither one in the records.

So the care pattern depended on two things. The first was the A1c number. A1c is a blood test that shows your average blood sugar over about three months. The higher the A1c, the more likely a person was to get a diagnosis and treatment, compared with people at 6.5% to 6.9%. The second was how many other health conditions a person had. People with more conditions were less likely to get a diagnosis or treatment for their blood sugar.

That makes sense in daily life. A result just over the line can be easy to overlook. And when a doctor visit is busy with several other health issues, blood sugar can wait its turn.

What a diagnosis code is

A diagnosis code is a short label your doctor’s office enters in your record so that a condition is officially noted. It is how your care team, and your insurer, know that something is being followed. Without it, a result can sit in your chart without anyone acting on it.

What you can do today

Find your last A1c number. Check your patient portal (the website or app your clinic or insurer gives you), or look at a printed lab report. An A1c of 6.5% or higher usually points to diabetes. If you can’t find a result, call your clinic’s front desk and ask for it. If you have several health conditions, ask that your blood sugar be included in your next visit. Medicare covers diabetes screening for people who qualify, so ask about it at your next check-in.