Total Prevalence of Diabetes &
Pre-diabetes

Total: 23.6 million children and adults -- 8.0% of the population -- have diabetes.

Diagnosed: 17.9 million people

Undiagnosed: 5.7 million people

Pre-diabetes: 57 million people

1.6 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2007.

Total prevalence of diabetes

Under 20 years of age: 186,300, or 0.22% of all people in this age group have diabetes. About one in every 400 to 600 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes.

Two (2) million adolescents (or 1 in 6 overweight adolescents) aged 12-19 have pre-diabetes .

Although type 2 diabetes can occur in youth, the nationally representative data that would be needed to monitor diabetes trends in youth by type are not available. Clinically-based reports and regional studies suggest that type 2 diabetes, although still rare, is being diagnosed more frequently in children and adolescents, particularly in American Indians, African Americans, and Hispanic/Latino Americans.

Age 20 years or older: 23.5 million, or 10.7% of all people in this age group have diabetes.

Age 60 years or older: 12.2 million, or 23.1% of all people in this age group have diabetes.

Men: 12.0 million, or 11.2% of all men aged 20 years or older have diabetes although nearly one third of them do not know it.

Women: 11.5 million, or 10.2% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes although nearly one quarter of them do not know it. The prevalence of diabetes is at least 2 to 4 times higher among non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian, and Asian/Pacific Islander women than among non-Hispanic white women.

Non-Hispanic Whites: 14.9 million, or 9.8% of all non-Hispanic whites aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Non-Hispanic Blacks: 3.7 million, or 14.7% of all non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Race and ethnic differences in prevalence of diagnosed diabetes

Sufficient data are not available to derive prevalence estimates of both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes for all minority populations. For example, national survey data can not provide reliable estimates for the Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander population. However, national estimates of diagnosed diabetes for certain minority groups 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 healthcare 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.

Data from the 2005 IHS user population database indicate that 14.2% of the American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 20 years or older who received care from IHS had diagnosed diabetes. After adjusting for population age differences, 16.5% of the total adult population served by IHS 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. After adjusting for population age differences, 2004-2006 national survey data for people diagnosed with diabetes, aged 20 years or older include the following prevalence by race/ethnicity:

6.6% of non-Hispanic whites 7.5% of Asian Americans 10.4% of Hispanics 11.8% of non-Hispanic blacks

Among Hispanics rates were:

8.2% for Cubans 11.9% for Mexican Americans 12.6% for Puerto Ricans.

For more information in English or Spanish, contact the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).

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