Diabetes Prevention and Control Program

Diabetes Statistics in Rhode Island

Diabetes Fact Sheet for Rhode Island (2006)

Download the Diabetes Factsheet 2006

Diabetes is increasing in Rhode Island

• The prevalence of diabetes among RI adults has increased by 75% in the last decade.¹
• An estimated 7.4% of RI adults (18+ years old) have diagnosed diabetes. ²This is consistent with an estimated prevalence of 7.5% self-reported diagnosed diabetes among adults in the US.³
• The proportion of adults with diabetes rises to 12% when the approximately 31,500 adults who have diabetes but remain undiagnosed ⁴ are included resulting in an estimated 94,500 Rhode Island adults with diabetes.
• Approximately 40.1% of adults age 40-74 have pre-diabetes, a condition that raises the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke ⁵. People with pre-diabetes have blood glucose levels higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes.

• The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes is highest among Black/African American adults (11.6%). Seven percent (6.9%) of White adults and six percent (8.2%) of adults who are neither Black/African American nor White report being diagnoses with diabetes ².
• Approximately equal proportion of Hispanic/Latino (7.3%) and non-Hispanic/Latino (7.2%) adults report being diagnosed with diabetes ² .
• The prevalence of diabetes is highest (16.8%) among people 65+. Three percent (3.1%) of those 18-44 years of age, and 8.8% of those 45-64 years of age report having been diagnosed with diabetes; 41.3% of the total estimated number of people with diabetes are in the 65+ age group ² .

Diabetes is a serious disease in Rhode Island

• People with diabetes may suffer with many diabetes-related complications or conditions including blindness, lower extremity amputations, end-stage renal disease, and cardiovascular disease.
• In 2004 there were 298 lower extremity amputations among people with diabetes.
• In 2004 there were 22,721 diabetes-related hospitalizations ⁶.
• Diabetes contributed to the death of 712 residents of Rhode Island in 2005.⁷

Diabetes is a costly disease in Rhode Island

• The direct cost (medical care) of diabetes in Rhode Island totaled approximately $600 million in 2002. ⁸

Need more information? 
RI Diabetes Prevention and Control Website: http://www.healthri.gov/topics/diabetes.php

¹Rhode Island BRFSS, 1996 – 2006
²Rhode Island BRFSS, 2006
³Downloaded from CDC’s BRFSS website at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/display.asp?cat=DB&yr=2006&qkey=1363&state=UB. Accessed on October 22, 2007
⁴Derived from: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of Diabetes and Impaired Fasting Glucose in Adults — United States, 1999–2000. MMWR 2003;52:833-837.
⁵Derived from: 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.
⁶Rhode Island Hospital Discharge Data, 2004
⁷Rhode Island Vital Statistics Data, 2005
⁸Derived from figures in: American Diabetes Association. Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2002. Diabetes Care 2003; 26(3): 917-932.