Diabetes in African American Youth
Prevalence, incidence, and clinical characteristics: the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study
Elizabeth J. Mayer-Davis , PHD 1 ,
Jennifer Beyer , MS 2 ,
Ronny A. Bell , PHD 3 ,
Dana Dabelea , MD, PHD 4 ,
Ralph D'Agostino, Jr. , PHD 2 ,
Giuseppina Imperatore , MD, PHD 5 ,
Jean M. Lawrence , SCD, MPH, MSSA 6 ,
Angela D. Liese , MPH, PHD 7 ,
Lenna Liu , MD, MPH 8 ,
Santica Marcovina , PHD, SCD 9 ,
Beatriz Rodriguez , MD, PHD 10 and
for the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study Group
1 Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2 Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
3 Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
4 Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado
5 Division of Diabetes Translation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, Atlanta, Georgia
6 Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanante Southern California, Pasadena, California
7 Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South
Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
8 Child Health Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
9 Northwest Research Laboratory, Seattle, Washington
10 Department of Geriatric Medicine, Pacific Health Research Institute, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii
Corresponding author: Ronny A. Bell, rbell{at}wfubmc.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE —To report the prevalence and incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among African American youth and to describe demographic,
clinical, and behavioral characteristics.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —Data from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study, a population-based, multicenter observational study of youth with clinically
diagnosed diabetes aged 0–19 years, were used to estimate the prevalence for calendar year 2001 (692 cases) and incidence
based on 748 African American case subjects diagnosed in 2002–2005. Characteristics of these youth were obtained during a
research visit for 436 African American youth with type 1 diabetes and 212 African American youth with type 2 diabetes.
RESULTS —Among African American youth aged 0–9 years, prevalence (per 1,000) of type 1 diabetes was 0.57 (95% CI 0.47–0.69) and for
those aged 10–19 years 2.04 (1.85–2.26). Among African American youth aged 0–9 years, annual type 1 diabetes incidence (per
100,000) was 15.7 (13.7–17.9) and for those aged 10–19 years 15.7 (13.8–17.8). A1C was ≥9.5% among 50% of youth with type
1 diabetes aged ≥15 years. Across age-groups and sex, 44.7% of African American youth with type 1 diabetes were overweight
or obese. Among African American youth aged 10–19 years, prevalence (per 1,000) of type 2 diabetes was 1.06 (0.93–1.22) and
annual incidence (per 100,000) was 19.0 (16.9–21.3). About 60% of African American youth with type 2 diabetes had an annual
household income of <$25,000. Among those aged ≥15 years, 27.5% had an A1C ≥9.5%, 22.5% had high blood pressure, and, across
subgroups of age and sex, >90% were overweight or obese.
CONCLUSIONS —Type 1 diabetes presents a serious burden among African American youth aged <10 years, and African American adolescents are
impacted substantially by both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Footnotes
The contents of this report are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work
is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.
DIABETES CARE...

Diabetes in African American Youth

10.2337/dc09-S203