Diabetes Devastates New York City

Filed in archive Information , Research on July 25, 2007

As recently published by the New York City Health Department, some 500,000 New Yorkers - one out of eight adults - have been diagnosed with diabetes.

In addition to charting the impact of diabetes in NYC, the synthesis of research findings from the past several years exposes unacceptable disparities among NYC neighborhoods and racial/ethnic groups:

• New Yorkers in East Harlem, Williamsburg-Bushwick and certain parts of the South Bronx are hospitalized for diabetes at 10 times the rate of people living on the Upper East Side.


• Residents in the most affected areas also die from diabetes at seven times the rate of New Yorkers in the least affected neighborhoods.


• Among racial/ethnic groups, black New Yorkers have the highest death rate from diabetes, dying at three times the rate of white New Yorkers.

According to Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, New York City Health Commissioner:

"Diabetes is hitting the city hard. Tragically, it is hurting our low-income communities much more than others. With good management, we can prevent devastating complications of diabetes, such as heart disease, blindness, leg amputations and kidney failure

Diabetes is not only hurting our health, it's hurting our wallets. The cost of treating diabetes is an unsustainable burden on our health system and economy. But even worse, behind these statistics are tragic individual stories that challenge our city and our health system to respond."

Find more details from the full report.