When you consider that more than one in five of the people in the United States who has diabetes doesn’t even know they have it, it’s easy to understand why an awareness month is needed.
According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), that’s 7.3 million, out of a total 34.2 million, who aren’t aware they’re living with the disease and all the health risks that poorly managed blood sugar can pose.
This health condition disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that prevalence of diabetes diagnoses is 14.7 percent among American Indians/Alaska Natives, nearly double that of white people (7.5 percent) in the United States. Diabetes has also been diagnosed in 12.5 percent of Hispanic people, 11.7 percent of non-Hispanic Black people, and 9.2 percent of non-Hispanic Asian people.
Understanding Diabetes
Diabetes puts people at risk for nerve damage, cardiovascular disease, foot and limb injuries, vision problems, and other complications that arise from having uncontrolled blood sugar. Not to mention, diabetes raises a person’s risk of developing serious COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, per the CDC. That’s why understanding diabetes and how to manage it is more important than ever.
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Diabetes and African Americans
- African American adults are 60 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician.
- In 2016, non-Hispanic blacks were 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with end stage renal disease as compared to non-Hispanic whites.
- In 2016, non-Hispanic blacks were 2.3 times more likely to be hospitalized for lower limb amputations as compared to non-Hispanic whites.
- In 2017, African Americans were twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes.
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