This is what we know from the research.

• About 21 million Americans have diabetes. That's about 7 percent of people.¹
• About a third of people with diabetes don't know they have it. But they are still at risk for extra problems that can happen with diabetes. Doctors call these complications. The longer diabetes is not diagnosed, the greater your chances of getting complications.¹
• There are two main types of diabetes. More than 75 percent of people with diabetes have type 2.²
• Diabetes is getting more common. From 1990 to 1998, the number of people with a diabetes diagnosis increased by more than a third. In 1990, almost 5 percent of people had this diagnosis. By 1998, more than 6 percent people did.³
• The increase in diabetes in the United States is linked to the increase in obesity. Between 1991 and 2000, the number of people who were obese grew by about two-thirds (60 percent). In many states, 25 percent of adults are obese.⁴
• The older you get, the more likely you are to get diabetes. About 20 percent people over 65 have it.¹
• Younger people are less likely to get diabetes. About 1 in 500 people under the age of 20 have it.¹
• People in some ethnic groups are more likely to get diabetes than others. If you're black, Mexican, Hispanic, Native American or an Alaskan Native, you're about twice as likely to get diabetes as a white American your age. Researchers aren't sure why this is. But they think it may be due to differences in the foods people eat or their genes.
• Men and women are equally likely to get diabetes.
• Some pregnant women get a kind of diabetes called gestational diabetes. And between 20 percent and 50 percent of women who have had gestational diabetes go on to have diabetes during the next five years to 10 years.¹ For more information, see Other types of diabetes and high blood glucose.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.