| Demographic Group: | Resident persons aged >=18 years. |
| Numerator: | Respondents aged >=18 years who report ever having physician-diagnosed diabetes other than diabetes during pregnancy. |
| Denominator: | Respondents aged >=18 years who report or do not report ever having physician-diagnosed diabetes (excluding unknowns and refusals). |
| Measures of Frequency: | Annual prevalence — crude and age-adjusted (standardized by the direct method to the year 2000 standard U.S. population, distribution 8*) — with 95% confidence interval. |
| Time Period of Case Definition: | Lifetime (ever diagnosed). |
| Background: | In 2002, a total of 8.7% of the adult population aged >=20 years had diabetes. Substantial differences in diabetes prevalence exist by age, race, and ethnicity. |
| Significance: | The burden of diabetes in the United States has increased with the increasing prevalence of obesity. Multiple long-term complications of diabetes can be prevented through improved patient education and self-management and provision of adequate and timely screening services and medical care. |
| Limitations of Indicator: | Approximately one third of cases of diabetes are undiagnosed. |
| Data Resources: | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/ |
| Limitations of Data Resources: | As with all self-reported sample surveys, BRFSS data might be subject to systematic error resulting from noncoverage (e.g., lower telephone coverage among populations of low socioeconomic status), nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions), or measurement (e.g., social desirability or recall bias). |
| Healthy People 2010 Objectives: | 5-3: Reduce the overall rate of diabetes that is clinically diagnosed. |
