HISPANIC DIABETES FACTS

HOW MANY HISPANIC AND LATINO AMERICANS HAVE DIABETES?

On average, about 2.5 million, or 9.5 percent of Hispanic and Latino Americans aged 20 years or older have been diagnosed with diabetes. But about one in three Hispanic/Latino Americans with diabetes is not aware of the condition. Hispanic/Latino American adults are nearly two times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic white adults. All Latinos at increased risk for diabetes includes those who are of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican or South/Central American origin.

HOW DO DIABETES-RELATED COMPLICATIONS AFFECT HISPANIC AND LATINO AMERICANS?

Diabetes is the leading cause of lower-extremity amputations, chronic, irreversible kidney disease, and blindness among working-age adults.

Type 2 diabetes, once considered an adult chronic disease, is now an emerging problem among children and adolescents and is more likely to affect children who are Hispanic/Latino.

In 2000, diabetes was the third underlying cause of death among Hispanics/Latinos aged 55-74. And tens of thousands of Latinos living in the U.S. and Puerto Rico are suffering other serious health complications due to diabetes, including end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). The damaging effects of ESRD require ongoing dialysis and/or kidney transplant.