The research, led by Armand Krikorian, MD, an endocrinologist at Oak Lawn, Ill.-based Advocate Christ Medical Center, uses data from Doximity’s database of U.S. physicians and 2013 reports on diabetes and obesity from the CDC.
Here are five key findings from the research.
1. The U.S. faces a shortage of endocrinologists: Just 6,000 are practicing in the U.S., while nearly 30 million Americans are living with diabetes, for example.
2. The majority of practicing endocrinologists are concentrated in the Northeast and Southwest, in addition to large metropolitan areas, like Chicago and Los Angeles.
3. Diabetes is most prevalent in southern states and obesity is most prevalent in the Southeast and Midwest, though only 12 states have obesity rates lower than 26 percent.
4. Dr. Krikorian called Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and states between Nevada, Kansas, Montana and Arizona “endocrine deserts.”
5. Prior research from Doximity shows 43 percent of endocrinologists practice in the same state they trained in, which indicates adding fellowships in underserved areas could be a step toward solving the endocrinologist distribution and shortage problem.
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