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

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.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, American Indian/Alaska Native Health
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, Chronic Liver Disease and American Indians/Alaska Natives
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, Diabetes and American Indians/Alaska Natives
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service, Disparities
• Journal of the National Medical Association, Kidney disease in Native Americans
• Epidemiology/Health Services Research, Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in American Indian and Alaska Native adults, 2006–2017
• National Indian Council on Aging, Diabetes Still Highest Among AI/AN
• National Indian Council on Aging, American Indian Health Disparities
• Arizona Department of Health Services, Leading Causes of Death and Health Disparities Among American Indian/Alaska Natives 2021