Diabetes is estimated to affect over 18 million people in the United States--just over 6 percent of the population. In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 13 million people in the United States have a diabetes diagnosis, while an additional 5.2 million people have diabetes but are undiagnosed. The prevalence of diabetes varies according to population, age and other factors.
Children and Youth
The overall prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in the United States population under the age of 20 is relatively low. The CDC indicates that in 2002 there were roughly 210,000 people in this age group with a diabetes diagnosis, representing 0.26 percent of the people in the U.S. between the ages of 0 and 19. The prevalence of Type I diabetes among children and teens is estimated at one person in every 400 to 500. The CDC reports that Type II diabetes is increasing in prevalence among this population, especially among African-Americans, American Indians and Latinos.
Adults
Among residents of the United States aged 20 years and older, the prevalence of diabetes is 8.7 percent. The prevalence of diabetes generally increases among older generations, with 18.3 percent of those aged 60 and over in 2002 having diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes in the age group 40 to 59 is estimated at 9.7 percent. The overall prevalence of diabetes in adult men and adult women is the same--neither gender has a higher risk or prevalence of diabetes.
Risk Factors: Race
In the United States, your race partly determines your relative risk for developing diabetes. In the non-Hispanic white population of the U.S., the prevalence of adult diabetes is slightly lower, at 8.4 percent. Among the non-Hispanic black population, the prevalence is higher--11.4 percent. Only 8.2 percent of Latino-American adults have diabetes, representing a relatively low prevalence rate among adults. By contrast, the prevalence of Type II diabetes among Latino-American children is relatively high. Among Mexican-American adults, however, the risk of having diabetes is more than twice as high as for similarly aged non-Hispanic whites.
Global Comparison
The prevalence of diabetes in the United States is higher than the global average. An article in the May 2004 issue of the journal "Diabetes Care" indicates that in 2000, the worldwide prevalence of diabetes--among all age groups--was estimated at 2.8 percent. This percentage is estimated to increase to 4.4 percent by the year 2030. It is believed that this significant projected increase in the global prevalence of diabetes is linked to the increase in the population aged 65 and over.
