The CDC also revealed that from 2018 to 2019, people who belong to specific racial and ethnic groups, such as American Indians and Alaska Natives, non-Hispanic Blacks, people of Hispanic origin, and non-Hispanic Asians, had the highest rate of adults in the United States being diagnosed with diabetes.
When your blood glucose (blood sugar) level is too high, you develop diabetes.
More than 37 million Americans have diabetes, with type 2 diabetes accounting for the majority of cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Adults are most frequently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. However, the number of diagnoses among kids and adolescents is rising.
About one in ten Americans, regardless of age, had diabetes in 2019. Additionally, 96 million persons are thought to have prediabetes (about one in three). The incidence of adults in the United States who had been diagnosed with diabetes in 2019 was 5.7 per 1,000, which is only somewhat less than the rate of 6.2 per 1,000 persons in 2000.
However, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes among adolescents from 2002 to 2015 increased dramatically for all other racial/ethnic groups, especially non-Hispanic Blacks, while it stayed steady among non-Hispanic Whites. More than 54.9 million Americans are expected to have diabetes (type 1 and type 2) by 2030, an increase of 54 percent.
According to research, persons from particular ethnic groups may be more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
- Native Alaskans and American Indians: 14.5 percent
- Blacks who are not Hispanic: 12.1 percent
- 11.8 percent are Hispanic.
- Asian non-Hispanics: 9.5 percent
- White non-Hispanics: 7.4 percent
These widespread risk factors frequently have a disproportionately negative impact on Black and Brown persons.
The highest prevalence was found among Hispanic adults with backgrounds in Mexico and Puerto Rico, at 14.4% and 12.4%, respectively. People having origins in Central or South America had a prevalence of 8.3 percent, while those from Cuba had a prevalence of 6.5 percent. With prevalence rates of 12.6 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively, among non-Hispanic Asians, those with roots in India and the Philippines had the highest prevalence, while those with origins in China had a 5.6 percent prevalence. 9.9% of other Asian ethnicities combined had the condition.
A high consumption of processed foods, which are mostly heavy in sodium and sugar but low in fibre, encourages the development of fat in the liver, which sets off the chain of events that leads to diabetes and metabolic disease. This is also more prevalent in some Black and Brown populations, such as Black Americans and Mexican Americans. 10
Studies have revealed that non-Hispanic Blacks and Mexican Americans, regardless of weight, had higher levels of insulin resistance, as well as higher than normal insulin levels in the blood, compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Additional research has revealed that other ethnic groups experience comparable changes in glucose metabolism. For instance, numerous studies indicate that Asian Americans have lower insulin production and more insulin resistance than non-Hispanic Whites.
Comparing Native Americans with diabetes to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanic Americans, a different study found that Native Americans had lower insulin sensitivity.
With regard to the general prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes, early screening and identification are essential. Early detection and treatment can benefit from routine checkups with a healthcare professional. In people aged 35 to 70 who are overweight, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises screening for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Additionally, they advise earlier screening for those who are underweight and those with a family history of diabetes. In addition to routine checkups with a medical team, lifestyle changes that emphasise increasing physical activity and improving food can assist Black and Brown persons avoid or delay the development of diabetes. Even though a person may have genetic predispositions to a disease, lifestyle changes are a crucial tool for prevention.
The implications of screening on health outcomes for populations that represent the prevalence of diabetes in America, particularly racial and ethnic groups with greater diabetes rates, require further study.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
