National Limb Loss Information Center - Fact Sheet

Hispanics/Latinos, Diabetes and Limb Loss

View Related Fact Sheet: Minorities, Diabetes and Limb Loss

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Recent studies have shown that Hispanic/Latino 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 National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), illustrate the extent and serious nature of this disease and its effect on Hispanic/Latino Americans.

  • According to the CDC, Hispanic/Latino Americans are at double the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with non-Hispanic whites of the same age.1
  • A 2003 study of American ethnic groups, based on results from the National Health Interview Survey, reveals that Hispanic/Latino Americans have a greater likelihood of developing diabetes over a lifetime, with males having a 45.4% probability and females having a 52.5% probability.2
  • About 9.5% of Hispanic/Latino American adults age 20 years or older have developed diabetes.3
  • According to a 2003 study of the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, “Hispanics were 3.6 times more likely to be hospitalized for uncontrolled diabetes” than non-Hispanic whites.4
  • According to this same study, “Hispanics were 2.9 times more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes-related amputation of a foot or a leg” than non-Hispanic whites.5
  • In 1997, diabetes accounted for 67% of the total number of lower-extremity amputations performed in the United States.6

Related Resources

References

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Fact Sheet: General Information and National Estimates on Diabetes in the United States, 2005. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005.

2 Boyle, James P., PhD, et al. “Lifetime Risk for Diabetes Mellitus in the United States,” JAMA 290 (14), 1884-90.

3 The Diabetes Epidemic Among Hispanic and Latino Americans. National Diabetes Education Program, National Institutes of Health, 2005. www.ndep.nih.gov/diabetes/pubs/FS_HispLatino_Eng.pdf.

4 Preidt, Robert. “Blacks, Hispanics Hospitalized More Often for Diabetes, Heart Disease.” HealthDay: News for Healthier Living, August 15, 2006.

5 Ibid.

6 “Hospital Discharge Rates for Nontraumatic Lower Extremity Amputation by Diabetes Status — U.S., 1997,” MMWR Weekly 50: 954-8. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5043a3.htm.
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