Highest Rate of Diabetes in Non-Hispanic White American Youth

Filed in archive Information , Research on June 29, 2007

Of all racial/ethnic groups of children in the U.S., the highest rate of diabetes is in the non-hispanic whites - with type 1 diabetes being the predominant kind.

These were the findings of a team from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver published in the June 27 issue of JAMA - a theme issue on chronic diseases of children.

Overall, the incidence rate (per 100,000 person-years [the number of individuals in the study times the number of years of follow-up per person]) of DM was 24.3. The incidence rate was highest among 10- to 14-year-old youth (33.9), and slightly higher in females vs. males. Overall, the highest incidence rates of DM were observed among non-Hispanic white (26.1), African American (25.4), and American Indian youth (25.0), with lower rates among Hispanic and Asian-Pacific Islander youth.

For children age 0 to 4 years and 5 to 9 years, most DM was type 1, regardless of race/ethnicity. The incidence of type 1 DM was highest among non-Hispanic white children, and lowest among American Indian and Asian-Pacific Islander children. Similarly, for older youth (10-14 years and 15-19 years), the incidence of type 1 DM was highest among non-Hispanic white children, followed by African American and Hispanic youth.

Another evidence that genetic plays a key role in type 1 diabetes? But the findings surely confirms that the incidence of diabetes in America is increasing, much like the worldwide trends.

Find more details from the full report at JAMA and UCSHC.