The Non-IR Fraction Within Chronic Conditions

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IR Prevalence by Condition — UK & US Estimates | For Radiant Health

How to read this data: These tables address a clinically important question — within each patient population, what share of sufferers appears to have a condition driven by causes other than insulin resistance? A low "Without IR" figure (e.g. T2DM at 10%) confirms how dominant IR is as a root driver. A higher figure (e.g. OCD at ~60%) reflects that the condition is multi-causal and IR, while strongly implicated epidemiologically, is not yet proven to be the mechanism in all cases. All figures are research-based estimates; individual clinical variation applies.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Estimated IR-Free Patients — UK

Condition Total UK Patients Est. % With IR IR Strength % Without IR Number Without IR
Type 2 Diabetes
Diagnosed; ~850,000 undiagnosed additional
4,800,000 ~90% Critical ~10% 480,000
Hypertension
Diagnosed; ~5M additional undiagnosed
14,000,000 ~65% High ~35% 4,900,000
Arthritis
OA ~9M; RA ~400,000 — Versus Arthritis UK
10,000,000 ~50% Moderate ~50% 5,000,000
IBS
NHS est. ~1 in 10; includes all adult ages
8,000,000 ~45% Moderate–Low ~55% 4,400,000
ADHD
Diagnosed adults; significant under-diagnosis
2,500,000 ~50% Moderate ~50% 1,250,000
OCD
OCD-UK estimate; 1 in 50 population
1,000,000 ~40% Emerging ~60% 600,000
Autism
NAS UK figure; ~1.1% prevalence all ages
750,000 ~40% Emerging ~60% 450,000
Combined across 7 conditions 41,050,000 ~41% weighted avg 17,080,000
IR Link Strength: Critical (>85%) High (60–85%) Moderate (45–60%) Moderate–Low (40–45%) Emerging (<45%)
🇺🇸 United States

Estimated IR-Free Patients — US

Condition Total US Patients Est. % With IR IR Strength % Without IR Number Without IR
Type 2 Diabetes
CDC 2023 — diagnosed + undiagnosed combined
38,000,000 ~90% Critical ~10% 3,800,000
Hypertension
CDC 2023 — 47% of US adults; ~122M total
120,000,000 ~65% High ~35% 42,000,000
Arthritis
CDC — all types; predominantly OA (~32M)
58,000,000 ~50% Moderate ~50% 29,000,000
IBS
AGA/CDC est. — 25–45M range; mid-range used
35,000,000 ~45% Moderate–Low ~55% 19,250,000
ADHD
NIMH diagnosed adults; significant under-diagnosis
10,000,000 ~50% Moderate ~50% 5,000,000
OCD
NIMH — ~1.2% adults; some estimates up to 3M
3,000,000 ~40% Emerging ~60% 1,800,000
Autism
CDC 2023 — 1 in 36 children; all-age est. ~5M
5,000,000 ~40% Emerging ~60% 3,000,000
Combined across 7 conditions 269,000,000 ~39% weighted avg 103,850,000
IR Link Strength: Critical (>85%) High (60–85%) Moderate (45–60%) Moderate–Low (40–45%) Emerging (<45%)

Methodology & Data Sources

The "% with IR" estimates are derived from peer-reviewed co-occurrence and population studies rather than from direct HOMA-IR measurement in each condition cohort (which remains sparse in the literature). Each figure represents a reasonable mid-range estimate; actual clinical populations will vary. Prevalence figures are current as of 2023–2024 data releases.

T2DM — 90% IR IR is mechanistically central to T2DM pathogenesis (ADA, 2023). ~5–10% may represent MODY/LADA phenotypes with predominantly insulin-secretory defects.
Hypertension — 65% IR Reaven (1988); Ferrannini et al.: sodium retention, RAAS activation, and sympathetic overactivity are IR-mediated in an estimated 50–75% of essential hypertension cases.
Arthritis — 50% IR OA: metabolic OA phenotype (Courties et al., 2019) — adipokines, synovial inflammation, and IR co-present in ~55–60% of OA cases. RA: systemic inflammation-driven IR in ~45%.
IBS — 45% IR Gut dysbiosis, elevated LPS, and impaired gut-brain axis signalling overlap with IR pathophysiology. Studies (Mihai et al., 2021) suggest metabolic dysregulation in ~40–50% of IBS patients.
ADHD — 50% IR Insulin-dopamine receptor interactions (Coccurello & Maccarrone); elevated IR in ADHD cohorts relative to controls; shared genetic loci with metabolic syndrome.
OCD — 40% IR Emerging evidence of hypothalamic-pituitary-IR-serotonin axis interactions. IR prevalence in OCD estimated at or marginally above population base rate (~38–42%).
Autism — 40% IR Metabolic and mitochondrial dysfunction in ASD cohorts; GI co-morbidity via IR-gut axis; some studies (Napoli et al., 2014) show elevated IR markers. Prevalence range ~35–45%.
Population prevalence sources UK: NHS Digital, Versus Arthritis, NAS, OCD-UK. US: CDC National Diabetes Statistics Report 2023; CDC Arthritis Data; NIMH Prevalence Statistics; AGA IBS data.

Important caveat: Patient totals across conditions cannot simply be summed as individuals frequently carry multiple diagnoses simultaneously (e.g. hypertension + T2DM + OA). The combined totals in the tables reflect condition-diagnosis counts, not unique individuals. True unique individual counts would be substantially lower due to multi-morbidity overlap.

© Living Veda Resources Ltd · Research estimates · Not for clinical diagnostic use
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