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Friday, May. 2, 2025

Do Native Americans have higher rates of diabetes and chronic disease than the general population? 

Carmela Guaglianone, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
yes

Studies have consistently found that American Indians and Alaska Natives are more likely to be diagnosed with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, liver disease or kidney disease. Such health disparities are often linked to a range of external conditions that can affect well-being, such as income level and access to health care, education or healthy foods. 

In 2023, U.S. adults who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native were 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes, down slightly from prior years. In Arizona, about 20% of adults among that population were diagnosed with diabetes as of 2019 — nearly double the statewide rate.

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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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