About 20 million Americans have diabetes, about half of whom are women. As many as one third do not know they have diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes occurs at about the same rate in men and women, but it is more common in Whites than in minorities.

Type 2 diabetes is more common in older people, mainly in people who are overweight. It is more common in African Americans, Hispanic Americans/Latinos, and American Indians.

Am I at risk for diabetes?

• Age — being older than 45
• Overweight or obesity
• Family history — having a mother, father, brother, or sister with diabetes
• Race/ethnicity — your family background is African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic American/Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian
• Having a baby with a birth weight more than 9 pounds
• Having diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes)
• High blood pressure — 140/90 mm HG or higher. Both numbers are important. If one or both numbers are usually high, you have high blood pressure.
• High cholesterol — total cholesterol over 240 mg/dL
• Inactivity — exercising less than 3 times a week
• Abnormal results in a prior diabetes test
• Having other health conditions that are linked to problems using insulin, like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• Having a history of heart disease or stroke

What causes diabetes?

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes — The exact causes of both types of diabetes are still not known. Type 1 diabetes tends to show up after a person is exposed to a trigger, such as a virus, which can start an attack on the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. There is no one cause for type 2 diabetes, but it seems to run in families, and most people who get type 2 diabetes are overweight.Gestational diabetes — Changing hormones and weight gain are part of a healthy pregnancy, but these changes make it hard for your body to keep up with its need for insulin. When that happens, your body doesn’t get the energy it needs from the foods you eat.

Should I be tested for diabetes?

If you’re at least 45-years-old, you should get tested for diabetes, and then you should be tested again every 3 years. If you’re 45 or older and overweight you may want to get tested more often. If you’re younger than 45, overweight, and have one or more of the risk factors listed in Am I at Risk for Diabetes you should get tested now. Ask your doctor for a fasting blood glucose test or an oral glucose tolerance test. Your doctor will tell you if you have normal blood glucose (blood sugar), pre-diabetes, or diabetes.