Annual rates of new diabetes cases on the rise in SWLA Diabetes in SWLA By Ashley Joseph | March 8, 2021 at 5:48 PM CST - Updated March 8 at 8:06 PM LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - In addition to COVID-19, Diabetes continues to be a nationwide health crisis. The latest data shows some parts of Southwest Louisiana lead the country in terms of case count. New health rankings released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that more than 19 percent of adults in both Allen and Cameron Parish have diabetes, which is higher than the national average, which currently stands at 13 percent. Dr. Timothy Gilbert, a local endocrinologist, relayed some factors that play a role in the prevalence of the disease in our region.