Prevalence of diabetes among Hispanics--selected areas, 1998-2002.

Diabetes disproportionately affects Hispanics in the United States. However, the Hispanic population is composed of culturally distinct subpopulations that tend to be regionally concentrated, and the prevalence of diabetes can differ in these subpopulations. CDC analyzed data from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys to estimate the prevalence of diabetes among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white adults residing in six states and among Hispanics in Puerto Rico, assessing disparities by geographic location. This report summarizes the findings of that analysis, which indicated that Hispanics continued to have a higher prevalence of diabetes than non-Hispanic whites and that disparities in diabetes between these two populations varied by area of residence. These findings underscore the need to target Hispanics and other populations with higher prevalence of diabetes to eliminate racial/ethnic disparities.