Diabetes Fast Facts

Hand with marker writing the word Facts Myths

The Big Picture

  • About 38 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 1 in 5 of them don’t know they have it.
  • About 98 million US adults—over a third—have prediabetes, and more than 8 in 10 of them don’t know they have it.
  • Diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States (and may be underreported).
  • Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes; type 1 diabetes accounts for approximately 5-10%.
  • In the last 20 years, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled as the American population has aged and become more overweight or obese.

Cost

  • Medical costs and lost work and wages for people with diagnosed diabetes total $413 billion yearly.
  • Medical costs for people with diabetes are more than twice as high as for people who don’t have diabetes.