2007 National Diabetes Fact Sheet Data

People with Diabetes by Race and Ethnicity, 2004-2006

Diabetes: Minorities Face Greater Burden

African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes [previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM)] or adult onset diabetes and its complications.

National estimates of diagnosed diabetes for certain minority groups (excepting Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders) are available from national survey data and from the Indian Health Service (IHS) user population database, which includes data for approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States who receive health care from the IHS. Because most minority populations are younger and tend to develop diabetes at earlier ages than the non-Hispanic white population, it is important to control for population age differences when making race and ethnic comparisons.

After adjusting for population age differences, 16.5% of the total adult population served by IHS in 2005 had diagnosed diabetes, with rates varying by region from 6.0% among Alaska Native adults to 29.3% among American Indian adults in southern Arizona.

Hispanics with Diabetes by Place of Origin, 2004-2006

After adjusting for population age differences, 2004-2006 national survey data for people aged 20 years or older indicate that 6.6% of non-Hispanic whites, 7.5% of Asian Americans, 10.4% of Hispanics, and 11.8% of non-Hispanic blacks had diagnosed diabetes. Among Hispanics, rates were 8.2% for Cubans, 11.9% for Mexican Americans, and 12.6% for Puerto Ricans.

Data Source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National diabetes fact sheet: general information and national estimates on diabetes in the United States, 2007. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008.