Statistics About Diabetes

August 17th, 2015 | by American Association

Complications

Data from the National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014 (released June 10, 2014)

Overall Numbers, Diabetes and Prediabetes

Prevalence: In 2012, 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3% of the population, had diabetes. Approximately 1.25 million American children and adults have type 1 diabetes.
Undiagnosed: Of the 29.1 million, 21.0 million were diagnosed, and 8.1 million were undiagnosed.
Prevalence in Seniors: The percentage of Americans age 65 and older remains high, at 25.9%, or 11.8 million seniors (diagnosed and undiagnosed).
New Cases: The incidence of diabetes in 2012 was 1.7 million new diagnoses/year; in 2010 it was 1.9 million.
Prediabetes: In 2012, 86 million Americans age 20 and older had prediabetes; this is up from 79 million in 2010.
Deaths: Diabetes remains the 7^th leading cause of death in the United States in 2010, with 69,071 death certificates listing it as the underlying cause of death, and a total of 234,051 death certificates listing diabetes as an underlying or contributing cause of death.

Diabetes in Youth

About 208,000 Americans under age 20 are estimated to have diagnosed diabetes, approximately 0.25% of that population.
In 2008—2009, the annual incidence of diagnosed diabetes in youth was estimated at 18,436 with type 1 diabetes, 5,089 with type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes by Race/Ethnicity

The rates of diagnosed diabetes by race/ethnic background are:

7.6% of non-Hispanic whites
9.0% of Asian Americans
12.8% of Hispanics
13.2% of non-Hispanic blacks
15.9% of American Indians/Alaskan Natives

The breakdown among Asian Americans:

4.4% for Chinese
11.3% for Filipinos
13.0 for Asian Indians
8.8% for other Asian Americans.

The breakdown among Hispanic adults:

8.5% for Central and South Americans
9.3% for Cubans
13.9% for Mexican Americans
14.8% for Puerto Ricans.

Deaths

Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2010 based on the 69,071 death certificates in which diabetes was listed as the underlying cause of death. In 2010, diabetes was mentioned as a cause of death in a total of 234,051 certificates.

Diabetes may be underreported as a cause of death. Studies have found that only about 35% to 40% of people with diabetes who died had diabetes listed anywhere on the death certificate and about 10% to 15% had it listed as the underlying cause of death.

Complications/Co-Morbid Conditions

Hypoglycemia: In 2011, about 282,000 emergency room visits for adults aged 18 years or older had hypoglycemia as the first-listed diagnosis and diabetes as another diagnosis.
Hypertension: In 2009–2012, of adults aged 18 years or older with diagnosed diabetes, 71% had blood pressure greater than or equal to 140/90 millimeters of mercury or used prescription medications to lower high blood pressure.
Dyslipidemia: In 2009–2012, of adults aged 18 years or older with diagnosed diabetes, 65% had blood LDL cholesterol greater than or equal to 100 mg/dl or used cholesterol-lowering medications.
CVD Death Rates: In 2003–2006, after adjusting for population age differences, cardiovascular disease death rates were about 1.7 times higher among adults aged 18 years or older with diagnosed diabetes than among adults without diagnosed diabetes.
Heart Attack Rates: In 2010, after adjusting for population age differences, hospitalization rates for heart attack were 1.8 times higher among adults aged 20 years or older with diagnosed diabetes than among adults without diagnosed diabetes.
Stroke: In 2010, after adjusting for population age differences, hospitalization rates for stroke were 1.5 times higher among adults with diagnosed diabetes aged 20 years or older compared to those without diagnosed diabetes.
Blindness and Eye Problems: In 2005–2008, of adults with diabetes aged 40 years or older, 4.2 million (28.5%) people had diabetic retinopathy, damage to the small blood vessels in the retina that may result in loss of vision.
Kidney Disease: Diabetes was listed as the primary cause of kidney failure in 44% of all new cases in 2011.
In 2011, 49,677 people of all ages began treatment for kidney failure due to diabetes.
In 2011, a total of 228,924 people of all ages with kidney failure due to diabetes were living on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant.
Amputations: In 2010, about 73,000 non-traumatic lower-limb amputations were performed in adults aged 20 years or older with diagnosed diabetes.
- About 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations among people aged 20 years or older occur in people with diagnosed diabetes.

Cost of Diabetes

Updated March 6, 2013

$245 billion: Total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2012
$176 billion for direct medical costs
$69 billion in reduced productivity

After adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.

For Additional Information

See the infographic, A Snapshot: Diabetes in America.

See our Fast Facts PDF.

These statistics and additional information can be found in the National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014, the most recent comprehensive assessment of the impact of diabetes in the United States, jointly produced by the CDC, NIH, ADA, and other organizations.