Diabetes is a long-term condition that affects how your body uses food for energy. When you eat, your body turns much of that food into sugar (glucose), which enters your blood. This increase in blood sugar causes an internal organ called the pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that helps move sugar from your blood into your cells so your body can use it for energy.
If you have diabetes, your body does not make enough insulin or cannot use it properly. This causes too much sugar to stay in your blood. Over time, high blood sugar can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease. The three main types of diabetes are type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes, which happens during pregnancy. Keeping a healthy weight, eating healthy foods, and staying physically active can help prevent and manage diabetes and may improve symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
- In 2024, AI/AN adults were 36% more likely than U.S. adults overall to have diabetes.
- In 2022, AI/AN people died from diabetes almost twice as often as the U.S. population overall.
- In 2023, AI/AN adults with diabetes were 27% more likely than U.S. adults with diabetes to get a yearly eye exam.
Additional Resources
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Related Data
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Occurrence
| Adults ages 18 and over with diagnosed diabetes, percentage, 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| AI/AN | Total Population | Ratio (AI/AN* / Total) |
| 13.6 | 10.0 | 1.36 |
Mortality
| Diabetes mortality, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AI/AN* | Total Population | Ratio (AI/AN* / Total) | |
| Male | 55.1 | 30.5 | 1.81 |
| Female | 40.8 | 18.8 | 2.17 |
| Both Sexes | 47.7 | 24.1 | 1.98 |
Health Care Use
| Adults ages 18 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received an annual eye examination in the calendar year, percentage, 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| AI/AN* | Total Population | Ratio (AI/AN* / Total) |
| 83.7 | 66.0 | 1.27 |
*Population is non-Hispanic in the data source.
Date Last Reviewed: January 2026