Facts & Figures

Diabetes: Facts & Figures

U.S. Population in General

• 25.8 million people, or 8.3% of the U.S. population, have diabetes
• 18.8 million people diagnosed
• 7.0 million people undiagnosed
• 17.4% of Americans age 20 -64 years of age have diabetes
• 26.9% of Americans 65 years or older have diabetes
• Diabetes was the 7th leading cause of death in 2007 (but diabetes is likely underreported as a cause of death)
• $116 billion spent in the U.S. on direct diabetes medical costs; $58 billion spent on indirect costs (disability, work loss, premature death)
• Highest number of new cases of diabetes occur in those 45-64 years of age (1,052,000 in 2010)

Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011). 2011 National diabetes fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/estimates11.htm

Statistics Specific to African Americans

• African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes
• 3.7 million, or 14.7% of all African Americans age 20 years or older have diabetes
• African Americans are 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites

(American Diabetes Association, 2012)

African Americans are more likely to suffer complications from diabetes:

• In 2008, African American men were 2.7 times as likely to start treatment for end-stage renal disease, as compared to non-Hispanic white males
• In 2008, diabetic African Americans were 1.7 times more likely than diabetic whites to be hospitalized
• In 2009, African Americans were 2.2 times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes
• In 2010, African Americans were 1.3 more likely to suffer visual impairment as a result of diabetes
• In 2009, African Americans were 2.0 times more likely to require lower extremity amputations compared to non-Hispanic whites

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, 2012)

References
American Diabetes Association (2012). African Americans & complications. Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/african-americans-and-complications.html

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health (2012). Diabetes and African Americans. Retrieved from http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=51&ID=3017