American Indian/Alaska Native Health

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 NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
13.28.91.5
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of diagnosed diabetes for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2023.
Adults age 18 and over with diagnosed diabetes, age-adjusted percentage, 2019–2021
American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men13.47.71.7
Women13.76.12.2
Total13.66.92.0
Source: CDC, 2022. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2021. Appendix Table 3.
Crude prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among adults age 18 and over, percentage, 2019–2021
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
16.08.51.9
Source: CDC, 2022. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2021. Table 2.

Death Rates

Diabetes mortality, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2021
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male56.939.31.4
Female46.727.61.7
Both Sexes51.833.41.6
Source: CDC, 2024. Deaths: Final Data for 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 73, No. 8. Table 10.

Related Conditions

Visual impairment among adults age 18 and over with diabetes, age-adjusted percentage, 2022
American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--26.3--
Source: CDC. National Diabetes Surveillance System.
Hospital admissions for uncontrolled diabetes without complications among adults age 18 and over, rate per 100,000 population, 2020
American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--26.8--
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.
Lower extremity amputations among admissions adults age 18 and over with diabetes, rate per 100,000 population, 2020
American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--27.8--
Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.
Incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) due to diabetes, age-adjusted rate per million population, 2020
American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
288.4121.12.4
Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.

Preventative Health

Adults age 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received a flu vaccination in the calendar year, percentage, 2020
American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--69.3--
Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.
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 NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--63.2--
Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.
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 NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
83.763.61.3
Source: CDC. National Health Interview Survey. Healthy People 2030. Annual eye examinations among adults with diagnosed diabetes by race/ethnicity, 2019–2023.
Adults age 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received a dilated eye examination in the calendar year, percentage, 2020
American Indian/Alaska NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native / 
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--59.2--
Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.
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 NativeNon-Hispanic WhiteAmerican Indian/Alaska Native /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--80.7--
Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.

1 CDC. 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 to top)

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

3 AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query. (Back to top)


Last Edited: 02/13/2025