Almost One in Ten Americans Are Diabetic

Almost everyone knows someone who has diabetes. An estimated 20.8 million people in the United States—7.0 percent of the population—have diabetes, a serious, lifelong condition. Of those, 14.6 million have been diagnosed, and 6.2 million have not yet been diagnosed. In 2005, about 1.5 million people aged 20 or older were diagnosed with diabetes.

For additional statistics, see the National Diabetes Statistics fact sheet online at www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/statistics or call the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse at 1–800–860–8747 to request a copy.

Total Prevalence of Diabetes by Race/Ethnicity Among People Aged 20 Years or Older,

United States, 2005
Non-Hispanic whites: 13.1 million; 8.7 percent of all non-Hispanic whites aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Non-Hispanic blacks:

3.2 million; 13.3 percent of all non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years or older have diabetes. After adjusting for population age differences, non-Hispanic blacks are 1.8 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age.

Hispanic/Latino Americans:

After adjusting for population age differences, Mexican Americans, the largest Hispanic/Latino subgroup, are 1.7 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites. If the prevalence of diabetes among Mexican Americans was applied to the total Hispanic/Latino population, about 2.5 million (9.5 percent) Hispanic/Latino Americans aged 20 years or older would have diabetes. Sufficient data are not available to derive estimates of the total prevalence of diabetes (both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes) for other Hispanic/Latino groups. However, residents of Puerto Rico are 1.8 times as likely to have diagnosed diabetes as non-Hispanic whites in the United Sates.

American Indians and Alaska Natives who receive care from the Indian Health Service (IHS):

99,500; 12.8 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 20 years or older who received care from the Indian Health Service (IHS) in 2003 had diagnosed diabetes. Applying the rate of undiagnosed diabetes in the total U.S. population to the American Indians and Alaska Natives who receive care from IHS gives an estimate of 118,000 (15.1 percent) American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 20 years or older with diabetes (both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes). After adjusting for population age differences, the total prevalence of diabetes in this group is lowest among Alaska Natives (8.1 percent) and highest among American Indians in the southern United States (26.7 percent) and in southern Arizona (27.6 percent). Taking into account population age differences, American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.2 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites.

Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders:

The total prevalence of diabetes (both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes) is not available for Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders. In Hawaii, however, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders aged 20 years or older are more than 2 times as likely to have diagnosed diabetes as whites after adjusting for population age differences. Similarly in California, Asians were 1.5 times as likely to have diagnosed diabetes as non-Hispanic whites. Other groups within these populations also have increased risk for diabetes.