Diabetes Prevalence in Children

There is no state surveillance of diabetes in children. The best information available is from a national study, the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. The prevalence rates published in the public domain are reprinted here (in abbreviated format). These estimates are from the largest surveillance effort on diabetes in youth conducted in the United States to date.

For more information on the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study estimates of diabetes prevalence, please see the full publication:

The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study Group. Liese AD, D'Agostino RB Jr, Hamman RF, Kilgo PD, Lawrence JM, Liu LL, Loots B, Linder B, Marcovina S, Rodriguez B, Standiford D, Williams DE. The burden of diabetes among U.S. youth: Prevalence estimates from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. Pediatrics 2006;118:1510-1518.

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of the Study Population in 2001 and Prevalence of Total Diabetes Mellitus.

	Cases per 1,000 Youth	95% Confidence Interval
Total	1.82	(1.78-1.87)
Age Group
0-4	0.31	(0.27-0.35)
5-9	1.25	(1.18-1.32)
10-14	2.29	(2.20-2.39)
15-19	3.35	(3.23-3.47)
Gender
Male	1.77	(1.71-1.83)
Female	1.88	(1.82-1.95)
Race/Ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic	2.16	(2.10-2.23)
Black, non-Hispanic	1.93	(1.79-2.08)
Hispanic	1.29	(1.21-1.38)
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.83	(0.74-0.94)
American Indian	1.29	(1.12-1.50)

 

Table 2. Estimates of Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus in 2001 According to Diabetes Type, Age Group, and Race/Ethnicity

	Type 1		Type 2		Other/Unknown		All Types
	Cases per 1,000 Youth	95% Confidence Interval	Cases per 1,000 Youth	95% Confidence Interval	Cases per 1,000 Youth	95% Confidence Interval	Cases per 1,000 Youth	95% Confidence Interval
Aged 0-9 years
White, non-Hispanic	1.03	(0.97-1.10)	0.00	(0.00-0.01)	0.02	(0.01-0.03)	1.06	(0.99-1.12)
Black, non-Hispanic	0.58	(0.48-0.71)	0.00	(0.00-0.02)	0.03	(0.01-0.06)	0.61	(0.51-0.74)
Hispanic	0.44	(0.37-0.52)	0.01	(0.00-0.02)	0.01	(0.01-0.03)	0.46	(0.39-0.54)
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.25	(0.19-0.35)	0.02	(0.01-0.06)	0.02	(0.01-0.06)	0.29	(0.22-0.39)
American Indian	0.18	(0.10-0.32)	0.03	(0.01-0.11)	0.02	(0.00-0.09)	0.23	(0.14-0.37)
All Groups	0.76	(0.72-0.81)	0.01	(0.00-0.01)	0.02	(0.01-0.03)	0.79	(0.75-0.83)
Aged 10-19 years
White, non-Hispanic	2.88	(2.78-2.98)	0.19	(0.16-0.21)	0.11	(0.10-0.14)	3.18	(3.07-3.29)
Black, non-Hispanic	2.07	(1.87-2.28)	1.05	(0.92-1.21)	0.10	(0.06-0.15)	3.22	(2.97-3.48)
Hispanic	1.60	(1.47-1.75)	0.48	(0.41-0.56)	0.10	(0.07-0.14)	2.18	(2.02-2.35)
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.78	(0.66-0.93)	0.54	(0.44-0.66)	0.02	(0.01-0.05)	1.34	(1.17-1.53)
American Indian	0.49	(0.35-0.68)	1.74	(1.46-2.07)	0.05	(0.02-0.13)	2.28	(1.96-2.65)
All Groups	2.28	(2.21-2.35)	0.42	(0.39-0.45)	0.10	(0.08-0.11)	2.80	(2.73-2.88)
Total	1.54	(1.50-1.58)	0.22	(0.20-0.24)	0.06	(0.05-0.07)	1.82	(1.78-1.87)