African Americans, Diabetes and Limb Loss

Recent studies have shown that African Americans have an elevated risk for developing diabetes. Diabetes is a serious disease that, unless managed and treated properly, may lead to secondary complications including amputation. The following statistics, taken from various sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), illustrate the extent and serious nature of this disease and its effect on African Americans.

• The American Diabetes Association’s Web site reports that “3.2 million or 13.3% of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diabetes.”
• The National Diabetes Education Program states that one-third of African American adults, aged 20 years and older, who have diabetes, have not yet been diagnosed with the disease.¹
• In 1997, 64.5% of African American women were classified as overweight. Being overweight is a significant risk factor for developing diabetes.²
• According to 2003 U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality data,“Blacks were nearly five times more likely [than non-Hispanic whites] … to be hospitalized for uncontrolled diabetes.”³
• According to a study of Maryland State Hospital Discharge data from 1986-1997, “African Americans were 2 to 4 times more likely to lose a lower limb than white persons of similar age and gender.”⁴
• In 1997, 67% of the total number of lower-extremity amputations performed in the United States were diabetes-related.⁵

Related Resources

• Black Women’s Health Imperative
  www.blackwomenshealth.org
• BlackHealthCare.com
  www.blackhealthcare.com
• Diabetes & African Americans
  www.diabetes.org/uedocuments/AfAmFlyer-low.pdf