New diabetes cases have decreased over the last decade except in people younger than 20 years. And in adults, there is much room for improvement in preventing diabetes complications. Data from this report can help focus critical type 2 diabetes prevention and diabetes management efforts across the nation.

CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation has released the National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2020 pdf icon[PDF – 768 KB], which presents the “state of the disease” in the United States. The report provides the most recent scientific data on:

• New cases of diabetes (incidence)
• Existing cases of diabetes (prevalence)
• Short- and long-term health complications
• Risk factors for health complications
• Prediabetes
• Death rate (mortality)
• Costs

The National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2020 pdf icon[PDF – 768 KB] analyzed health data through 2018, providing statistics across ages, races, ethnicities, education levels, and regions. Data from this report provide vital perspectives on the current status of diabetes and can help focus prevention and management efforts going forward. New in 2020, the report features trends in prevalence and incidence estimates over time.

Key findings include:

• 34.2 million Americans—just over 1 in 10—have diabetes.
• 88 million American adults—approximately 1 in 3—have prediabetes.
• New diabetes cases were higher among non-Hispanic blacks and people of Hispanic origin than non-Hispanic Asians and non-Hispanic whites.
• For adults diagnosed with diabetes:
  • New cases significantly decreased from 2008 through 2018.
  • The percentage of existing cases was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives.
  • 15% were smokers, 89% were overweight, and 38% were physically inactive.
  • 37% had chronic kidney disease (stages 1 through 4); and fewer than 25% with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease (stage 3 or 4) were aware of their condition.
• New diagnosed cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes have significantly increased among US youth.
• For ages 10 to 19 years, incidence of type 2 diabetes remained stable among non-Hispanic whites and increased for all others, especially non-Hispanic blacks.
• The percentage of adults with prediabetes who were aware they had the condition doubled between 2005 and 2016, but most continue to be unaware.

Youth data were provided from SEARCH for Diabetes in Youthexternal icon, the nation’s first and only ongoing assessment of trends in type 1 and type 2 diabetes among youth. The study’s findings are key to understanding how the epidemic is changing over time in Americans under 20 years old. CDC leads SEARCH with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What CDC is doing

CDC is working to reverse the epidemic by helping to identify people with prediabetes, prevent type 2 diabetes and diabetes complications, and improve the health of all people with diabetes. Those efforts include:

• The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) provides the framework for type 2 diabetes prevention efforts in the United States. Through the National DPP’s evidence-based, affordable lifestyle change program, adults with prediabetes learn to make healthy changes that can cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 58% (71% for those over 60 years). More than 1,500 CDC-recognized organizations offer the National DPP lifestyle change program, and more than 400,000 eligible people have participated. Approximately 40 commercial health plans provide some coverage for the program, and Medicare began reimbursing for CDC-recognized in-person programs in 2018.
• CDC, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Medical Association partnered with the Ad Council on the first national public service advertising (PSA) campaign about prediabetes. Launched January 2016, these humorous PSAs in English and Spanish encourage people to take a short online test at DoIHavePrediabetes.orgexternal icon to learn their risk and take action if needed.
• To prevent serious and costly diabetes complications, states are working with CDC to improve access to diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES), with an emphasis on DSMES programs that meet national quality standards. Additionally, CDC and NIH’s Natural Experiments for Translation in Diabetes 2.0 (NEXTD-2) study examines the effect of major policies and interventions on diabetes prevention and management. NEXTD-2 is a follow-up to the NEXT-D study, which evaluated health policies and interventions used by health care systems, businesses, and communities to reduce diabetes risk, complications, and health inequalities.

Explore the Division of Diabetes Translation website to learn more about how CDC is translating science into practice to realize its vision: a world free of the devastation of diabetes.