UCI Health is one of the nation’s best for diabetes treatment, endocrinology expertise

Ranked No. 39 by U.S. News & World Report, program is the only one within an academic health system

Orange, Calif. — The diabetes and endocrinology program at UCI Health is one of the best in the country, ranked No. 39 by U.S. News & World Report.

The UCI Health Diabetes Center is the only university-based, comprehensive diabetes center in Orange County, where an estimated one million people have diabetes or prediabetes. As part of the county’s only academic health system, patients there receive care based on the latest research, much of which is conducted by its clinician-scientists.

The center’s specialists treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes, along with rare forms of diabetes mellitus and diabetes-related metabolic conditions, such as fatty liver disease. Its experts are leaders in the treatment of the most complex endocrine disorders, and the program is a referral center for patients who have them.

The center also serves as a trusted regional resource about the disease, providing education to community physicians, nurses, educators, patients and their families.

Strategies for preventing diabetes

The center’s Diabetes Prevention Program is a proven method for changing health behaviors to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

During the one-year, lifestyle-change program, participants work with a trained coach to develop skills to support healthy eating, physical activity, stress management and staying on track while dining out or celebrating.

Addressing a growing crisis

In 2023, UC Irvine and the UCI-OC Alliance launched a program to address the toll the disease takes on Orange County’s Latino community and ensure greater well-being for the population.

Additionally, UCI Health partnered with community leaders in 2023 to launch an initiative to combat type 2 diabetes in the Latino community to address the escalating health crisis of diabetes and metabolic diseases. It was created to enhance healthcare delivery, expand access to quality treatment and foster a culture of preventive care.

Recognizing that health outcomes are influenced by far more than clinical care alone, the program also considers social determinants such as housing, food insecurity, transportation, education and economic opportunity and the profound role they play in one’s health.

The initiative is rooted in three elements: prevention, research and treatment. As a world-class public research institution, UC Irvine is uniquely equipped to develop the educational, clinical and research-based resources necessary to advance this collaboration’s mission.

Research that moves the needle

Diabetes research is another major area of concentration at the center, which is powered by UC Irvine. As a world-class research institution, UC Irvine has several multidisciplinary partners conducting diabetes research across the schools of medicine, engineering, physical sciences, computer science and information.

Artificial intelligence-driven platforms enable researchers to analyze patterns in large populations, identify at-risk groups, as well as accelerate the discovery of new drugs and noninvasive interventions.