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Publications and Products
Fact Sheet
Prevalence of Diabetes among Hispanics
In Six U.S. Geographic Locations
This report is also provided in
Portable Document Format
(PDF 51 KB) - Learn more about PDFs.
Diabetes disproportionately affects Hispanics in the United States. Where Hispanics
reside may be a key factor in how diabetes impacts their lives. Differences
in access to quality health care, social and cultural factors, or genetics may explain disparities
in diabetes prevalence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
conducted a study to examine the prevalence of diabetes among Hispanics in six
U.S. geographical areas from 1998 to 2002.
Key Findings
- Among U.S. regions with the greatest proportion of Hispanic residents—California,
Florida, Illinois, New York/New Jersey, Texas, and Puerto Rico—the prevalence
of diagnosed diabetes among adults aged 18 years and older was 7.4 percent.
- Prevalence of diabetes among Hispanics varied by region from 6.2
percent in Illinois and New York/New Jersey to 9.3 percent in Puerto Rico.
- Diabetes tends to strike Hispanics at younger ages than the non-Hispanic
white population. California had the highest rate of diabetes among younger
Hispanics. Among adults aged 18 to 44 years, 3.2 percent of Hispanics had
diagnosed diabetes compared with 1.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites in that
age group.
- The Hispanic population in the United States is younger than the non-Hispanic
population. When accounting for the different age distributions, the overall
prevalence of diabetes among Hispanics was almost twice that of non-Hispanic
whites (9.8 percent vs. 5 percent).
- In all geographic areas, diabetes rates increased with age. Illinois had
the highest rates among middle-aged adults aged 45–54 years (15.9 percent vs.
4.6 percent) and among adults aged 65 years and older (25.8 percent vs.15
percent).
- Diabetes rates more than doubled for obese Hispanics. Among those with a
body mass index (BMI) of 25 or less, 7 percent reported
they had diabetes while 15.3 percent of those with a BMI of 30 or more had diabetes.
BMI is the ratio of height to weight.
- Prevalence of diabetes decreased with higher education levels. Among
Hispanics with less than a high school education, 11.8 percent had diabetes
compared to 7 percent of college graduates.
Diabetes Facts
- About 18.2 million people in United States have diabetes and
another 41 million have a condition known as pre-diabetes when their blood
sugar is elevated above normal levels. With modest lifestyle changes—increased
physical activity and weight loss—people with pre-diabetes can reduce their
risk of developing diabetes.
- Lifetime risk estimates for developing diabetes is higher for both
Hispanic men and women than for other ethnic groups. Hispanic women born in
2000 have a 52.5 percent risk of developing diabetes in their lifetime while
Hispanic men have a 45.4 percent risk. That compares to a 31.2 percent risk
for non-Hispanic white females and 26.7 percent risk among non-Hispanic white
males and a 49 percent and a 40.2 percent risk among African American women
and men respectively.
- Most people with diabetes (90-95 percent) have type 2 which is
associated with having a family history of diabetes, older age, obesity, and race/ethnicity.
Hispanic Americans are at particularly high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
- Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death among Hispanics in
the United States and is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke, kidney
disease, blindness, and amputations.
Prevention Efforts
- The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) sponsored by CDC
and the National Institutes of Health provides Spanish-language education
materials and prevention tools to Hispanic communities as well as to health
care providers and businesses. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/ndep/index.htm
- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $37.5
million to support 40 communities in reducing the burden of diabetes, overweight,
obesity, and asthma. http://healthierus.gov/steps
- Diabetes can contribute to serious complications even before it
is diagnosed. HHS is piloting a screening program in 10 U.S. communities to
uncover diabetes in the more than 5.2 million Americans who have undiagnosed
diabetes. To date, the Diabetes Detection Initiative has found that for every100
tests distributed to targeted populations, one case of diabetes was detected.
http://ndep.nih.gov/ddi/index.htm
For more information on diabetes visit http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/index.htm
or call
toll free: 1-800-CDC-INFO 1-888-232-6348 TTY (232-3422).
Department of Health and Human Services
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Page last modified: December 20, 2005
Content Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Diabetes Translation
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