Publications and Products

National Diabetes Fact Sheet

Return to the Table of Contents

National Estimates on Diabetes

Methods

The data in this fact sheet were derived from various surveys of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES III and NHANES 1999-2000), the National Hospital Discharge Survey, and surveys conducted through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Other data sources include CDC's National Vital Statistics System, the outpatient database of the Indian Health Service (IHS), the U.S. Renal Data System of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and published studies. Many of the estimates were calculated from these data sources by CDC and NIH staff.

Estimates of the total number of people with diabetes and the prevalence of diabetes (both diagnosed and undiagnosed) per 100 population are model-based estimates calculated from NHIS data, NHANES data, and population estimates. Age-race-sex-specific diabetes prevalence estimates from the 1999-2001 NHIS and the 2002 outpatient database of the IHS were applied to 2002 census estimates to calculate the number of diagnosed cases of diabetes. The number of persons with undiagnosed diabetes was calculated by applying age-specific estimates from NHANES 1999-2000 to 2002 census estimates. Total prevalence was calculated based on the number of people with both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes.

The summary estimates reported in this fact sheet have some variability due to the limits of the measurements and the estimation procedures. However, it is the consensus opinion of the participating organizations that they are the best current estimates of the burden of diabetes. More detail on the data sources, references, and methods are available at http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheet.htm.

Total prevalence of diabetes in the United States, all ages, 2002

Total: 18.2 million people — 6.3% of the population — have diabetes.

Diagnosed: 13.0 million people

Undiagnosed: 5.2 million people

Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among people under 20 years of age, United States, 2002

About 210,000 people under 20 years of age have diabetes. This represents 0.26% of all people in this age group.

Approximately one in every 400 to 500 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes.

Although type 2 diabetes is a problem among youth, nationally representative data to monitor diabetes trends among youth are not available. Clinic-based reports and regional studies indicate that type 2 diabetes is becoming more common among children and adolescents, particularly in American Indians, African Americans, and Hispanic/Latinos.

Total prevalence of diabetes among people aged 20 years or older, United States, 2002

Age 20 years or older: 18.0 million; 8.7% of all people in this age group have diabetes.

Age 60 years or older: 8.6 million; 18.3% of all people in this age group have diabetes.

Men: 8.7 million; 8.7% of all men aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Women: 9.3 million; 8.7% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Total prevalence of diabetes by race/ethnicity among people aged 20 years or older, United States, 2002

Non-Hispanic whites: 12.5 million; 8.4% of all non-Hispanic whites aged twenty years or older have diabetes.

Non-Hispanic blacks: 2.7 million; 11.4% of all non-Hispanic blacks aged twenty years or older have diabetes. On average, non-Hispanic blacks are 1.6 times as likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of similar age.

Hispanic/Latino Americans: 2.0 million; 8.2% of all Hispanic/Latino Americans aged twenty years or older have diabetes. On average, Hispanic/Latino Americans are 1.5 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of similar age. Mexican Americans, the largest Hispanic/Latino subgroup, are over twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age. Similarly, residents of Puerto Rico are 1.8 times more likely to have diagnosed diabetes than U.S. non-Hispanic whites. Sufficient data are not available to derive more specific current estimates for other Hispanic/Latino groups.

American Indians and Alaska Natives who receive care from the Indian Health Service (IHS): 110,814; 14.9% of American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 20 years or older and receiving care from IHS have diabetes. At the regional level, diabetes is least common among Alaska Natives (8.2%) and most common among American Indians in the southeastern United States (27.8%) and southern Arizona (27.8%). On average, American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.2 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age.

Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders: In 2002, Native Hawaiians and Japanese and Filipino residents of Hawaii aged twenty years or older were approximately 2 times as likely to have diagnosed diabetes as white residents of Hawaii of similar age. Prevalence data for diabetes among other Pacific Islanders or Asian Americans are limited, but some groups within these populations are at increased risk for diabetes.

Incidence of diabetes, United States, 2002

New cases diagnosed per year: 1.3 million people aged 20 years or older.

Deaths among people with diabetes, United States, 2000

• Diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 2000. This ranking is based on the 69,301 death certificates in which diabetes was listed as the underlying cause of death. Altogether, diabetes contributed to 213,062 deaths.
• Diabetes is likely to be underreported as a cause of death. Studies have found that only about 35% to 40% of decedents with diabetes have diabetes listed anywhere on the death certificate and only about 10% to 15% have it listed as the underlying cause of death.
• Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about 2 times that of people without diabetes.

Complications of diabetes in the United States

Heart disease and stroke

• Heart disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related deaths. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.
• The risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes.
• About 65% of deaths among people with diabetes are due to heart disease and stroke.

High blood pressure

• · About 73% of adults with diabetes have blood pressure greater than or equal to 130/80 mm Hg or use prescription medications for hypertension.

Blindness

• Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20-74 years.
• Diabetic retinopathy causes 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year.

Kidney disease

• Diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, accounting for 44 percent of new cases.
• In 2001, 42,813 people with diabetes began treatment for end-stage renal disease.
• In 2001, a total of 142,963 people with end-stage renal disease due to diabetes were living on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant.

Nervous system disease

• About 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage. The results of such damage include impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other nerve problems.
• Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major contributing cause of lower-extremity amputations.

Amputations

• More than 60% of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations occur among people with diabetes.
• In 2000-2001, about 82,000 nontraumatic lower-limb amputations were performed annually among people with diabetes.

Dental disease

• Periodontal (gum) disease is more common among people with diabetes. Among young adults, those with diabetes have about twice the risk of those without diabetes.
• Almost one-third of people with diabetes have severe periodontal diseases with loss of attachment of the gums to the teeth measuring 5 millimeters or more.

Complications of pregnancy

• Poorly controlled diabetes before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy can cause major birth defects in 5% to 10% of pregnancies and spontaneous abortions in 15% to 20% of pregnancies.
• Poorly controlled diabetes during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy can result in excessively large babies, posing a risk to the mother and the child.

Other complications

• Uncontrolled diabetes often leads to biochemical imbalances that can cause acute life-threatening events, such as diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar (nonketotic) coma.
• People with diabetes are more susceptible to many other illnesses and, once they acquire these illnesses, often have worse prognoses. For example, they are more likely to die with pneumonia or influenza than people who do not have diabetes.

Cost of diabetes in the United States

Total (direct and indirect): $132 billion  

Direct medical costs: $92 billion

Indirect costs: $40 billion (disability, work loss, premature mortality) 

These data are based on a study conducted by the Lewin Group, Inc. for the American Diabetes Association and are 2002 estimates of both the direct costs (cost of medical care and services) and indirect costs (costs of short-term and permanent disability and of premature death) attributable to diabetes. This study uses a specific cost-of-disease methodology to estimate the health care costs that are due to diabetes.

Top of page

Privacy Policy | Accessibility

Home | About the Program | Site Map | Contact Us

CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Diabetes Translation