Diabetes Foot Facts

Prevalence of diabetes
Total: 20.8 million people – 7.0% of the population - have diabetes.
Diagnosed: 14.6 million people
Undiagnosed: 6.2 million people

Prevalence of diabetes among people under 20 years of age

• About 176,500 people less than 20 years of age have diabetes.  This represents 0.22% of all people in this age group.
• Approximately one in every 400 to 600 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes.
• Clinic-based reports and regional studies indicate that type 2 diabetes is becoming more common among Native American/American Indian, African American, and Hispanic and Latino children and adolescents.

Prevalence of diabetes among people 20 years or older

• Age 20 years or older: 20.6 million.  9.6% of all people in this age group have diabetes.
• Age 60 years or older:  10.3 million.  20.9% of all people in this age group have diabetes.
• Men:  10.9 million.  10.5% of all men aged 20 years or older have diabetes.
• Women:  9.7 million.  8.8% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes.

Prevalence of diabetes by race/ethnicity among people 20 years or older

• Non-Hispanic whites: 13.1 million.  8.7% of all non-Hispanic whites aged 20 years or older have diabetes.
• Non-Hispanic blacks:  3.2 million. 13.3% of all non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years or older have diabetes.  On average, non-Hispanic blacks are 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of similar age.
• Hispanic/Latino Americans:  2.5 million. 9.5% of all Hispanic/Latino Americans aged 20 years or older have diabetes.  On average, Hispanic/Latino Americans are 1.7 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of similar age. 
• American Indians and Alaska Natives who receive care from the Indian Health Service (IHS):  99,500. 12.8% of American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 20 years or older receiving care from IHS have diabetes.  On average, American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.2 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of similar age.
• Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders:  Prevalence data for diabetes among Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders are limited.  Some groups within these populations are at increased risk for diabetes. 

Complications of diabetes

Heart disease and Stroke

• Heart disease and stroke account for about 65% of deaths in people with diabetes.
• Adults with diabetes have heart disease rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.
• The risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes.

High blood pressure

• About 73% of adults with diabetes have blood pressure greater than or equal to 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or use prescription medications for hypertension.

Blindness

• Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults 20-74 years old.
• Diabetic retinopathy causes from 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year.

Kidney disease

• Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44% of new cases in 2002.
• In 2002, 44,400 people with diabetes began treatment for end-stage kidney disease in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
• In 2002, a total of 153,730 people with end-stage kidney disease due to diabetes were living on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Nervous system disease

• About 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage.  The results of such damage include impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other nerve problems.
• Almost 30% of people with diabetes aged 40 years or older have impaired sensation in the feet.
• Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major contributing cause of lower-extremity amputations.

Amputations

• More than 60% of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations in the United States occur among people with diabetes.
• In 2002, about 82,000 nontraumatic lower-limb amputations were performed in people with diabetes.

Cost of diabetes in the United States
Total (direct and indirect):  $132 billion
Direct medical costs:  $92 billion
Indirect costs:  $40 billion (disability, work loss, premature mortality)

PREVENTING DIABETES COMPLICATIONS
Diabetes can affect many parts of the body and can lead to serious complications such as blindness, kidney damage, and lower-limb amputations. Working together, people with diabetes and their health care providers can reduce the occurrence of these and other diabetes complications by controlling the levels of blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids, and by receiving other preventive care practices in a timely manner.

The data in this fact sheet were derived from various surveys of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES III and NHANES 1999-2000), the National Hospital Discharge Survey, and surveys conducted through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Other data sources include CDC's National Vital Statistics Systems, the outpatient database of the Indian Health Service (IHS), the U.S. Renal Data System of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and published studies. Many of the estimates were calculated from these data sources by CDC and NIH staff.

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