Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control released their 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report. I will list some of the findings I find especially pertinent to the CNMI below:
The prevalence of diabetes has increased to 13% of the US adult population. The prevalence has continued to increase, from 5.3% in 1980, 8.2% in 1999, and now 13%.
22% of the Americans with diabetes are not aware of their condition. This number is 31% among the US Asian populations. Undiagnosed diabetes is also much higher on those without a college education. Based on this I would estimate that between 40 and 50% of those with diabetes in the CNMI have not yet been diagnosed. My own clinical experience would certainly be consistent with these numbers.
The ethnic group with the highest diabetes prevalence was American Indian/Alaska natives at 14.7%. This would compare to our NCD Survey from 2016 which showed a prevalence of 25.3% in Chamorros, 22% in Carolinians. Pacific Islanders in the CNMI continue to show among the highest rates of diabetes found anywhere in the world.
Among Asian populations present in the CNMI, US Filipinos have the highest rate of diabetes, nearly double that seen in Chinese Americans. As most of you know, Filipino’s are the single largest ethnic group in our islands.
89% of Americans with diabetes are overweight or obese.
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