Americans with Diabetes Rises to Nearly 26 million
Jan 26, 2011
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 2011—the most recent comprehensive assessment of the prevalence of diabetes in the United States—which shows that 25.8 million Americans have diabetes and another 79 million Americans are estimated to have pre-diabetes, raising their risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
The fact sheet also indicates that racial and ethnic minorities continue to have higher rates of diabetes, heightening concerns about health disparities among these populations. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, diabetes continues to be more prevalent among African Americans, people of African Ancestry, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders.
Older Americans also have higher rates of diabetes and pre-diabetes. Half of Americans age 65 and older have pre-diabetes, and nearly one-third have diabetes.
According to the statistics, type 2 diabetes is extremely rare among children younger than 10. Type 2 diabetes is still unusual among youth ages 10 to 19, but rates were greater for this age group than in younger children. There were higher rates of type 2 diabetes among minorities than non-Hispanic whites.
Diabetes is a serious, common, costly, yet controllable and preventable disease. NDEP offers free diabetes-related resources at www.YourDiabetesInfo.org. View or download the fact sheet.
