RESULTS— Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in 1988–1994 was estimated to be 5.1% for
U.S. adults 20 years of age (10.2 million people when extrapolated to the 1997 U.S. population).
Using American Diabetes Association criteria, the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes
(fasting plasma glucose 126 mg/dl) was 2.7% (5.4 million), and the prevalence of impaire d
fasting glucose (110 to 126 mg/dl) was 6.9% (13.4 million). There were similar rates of diabetes
for men and women, but the rates for non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican-Americans were
1.6 and 1.9 times the rate for non-Hispanic whites. Based on American Diabetes Association
criteria, prevalence of diabetes (diagnosed plus undiagnosed) in the total population of people
who were 40–74 years of age increased from 8.9% in the period 1976–1980 to 12.3% by
1988–1994. A similar increase was found when WHO criteria were applied (11.4 and 14.3%).