Diabetes and American Indians/Alaska Natives

• In 2023, American Indian/Alaska Native adults were 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes.¹
• In 2021, non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives were 1.6 times more likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes.²
• In 2020, American Indians/ Alaska Natives were more than two times as likely to be diagnosed with end stage renal disease due to diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.³

Diagnosed Cases of Diabetes

Adults age 18 and over with diagnosed diabetes, percentage, 2023
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
13.2	8.9	1.5

Adults age 18 and over with diagnosed diabetes, age-adjusted percentage, 2019–2021
	American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	13.4	7.7	1.7
Women	13.7	6.1	2.2
Total	13.6	6.9	2.0

Crude prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among adults age 18 and over, percentage, 2019–2021
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
16.0	8.5	1.9

Death Rates

Diabetes mortality, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2021
	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	56.9	39.3	1.4
Female	46.7	27.6	1.7
Both Sexes	51.8	33.4	1.6

Related Conditions

Visual impairment among adults age 18 and over with diabetes, age-adjusted percentage, 2022
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	26.3	--

Hospital admissions for uncontrolled diabetes without complications among adults age 18 and over, rate per 100,000 population, 2020
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	26.8	--

Lower extremity amputations among admissions adults age 18 and over with diabetes, rate per 100,000 population, 2020
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	27.8	--

Incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) due to diabetes, age-adjusted rate per million population, 2020
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
288.4	121.1	2.4

Preventative Health

Adults age 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received a flu vaccination in the calendar year, percentage, 2020
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	69.3	--

Adults age 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes who had their feet checked for sores or irritation in the calendar year, percentage, 2020
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	63.2	--

Adults age 18 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received an annual eye examination in the calendar year, percentage, 2023
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
83.7	63.6	1.3

Adults age 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received a dilated eye examination in the calendar year, percentage, 2020
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native /  Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	59.2	--

Adults age 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received at least two hemoglobin A1c measurements in the calendar year, percentage, 2020
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	80.7	--

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¹CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of diagnosed diabetes for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2023. (back)

²CDC, 2024. Deaths: Final Data for 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 73, No. 8. Table 10. (back)

³AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query. (back)