Approximately 2.7 million, or 11.4%, of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diabetes. However, one-third of them do not know it.
(American Diabetes Association)
Approximately 2.7 million or 11.4% of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diabetes. However, one-third of them do not know it.
The most life-threatening consequences of diabetes are heart disease and stroke, which strike people with diabetes more than twice as often as they do others. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates 2 to 4 times higher than those without diabetes. African Americans with diabetes are at increased risk for heart disease, stroke and other macrovascular complications. Other complications of diabetes include blindness, kidney disease, and amputations.
Diabetes is the fifth deadliest disease in the United States, and it has no cure. The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2002 was estimated to be $132 billion, or one out of every 10 health care dollars spent in the United States.
Prevalence:
For more information on diabetes in the African American community, and to learn how to prevent complications associated with diabetes, please visit www.diabetes.org.
(Source: American Diabetes Association)
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