According to the National Diabetes Education Program, there is a current epidemic of diabetes among African Americans. African Americans are one of the largest groups in the population in the United States that are contracting Type II diabetes. In addition, diabetes is also one of the leading causes of death and disability among African Americans in the United States.

There are certain factors that are believed to cause Type II diabetes, which accounts for nearly 95 percent of all cases of the disease. The causes are generally someone with a close relative with the disease, being an African American or being overweight. Other factors include having high blood pressure, high cholesterol and having gestational diabetes while pregnant. It is estimated that about 3.2 million African Americans have Type II diabetes and about one third of them are undiagnosed.

No one is quite sure why African Americans are more likely to get Type II diabetes than any other ethnic group. One thing is certain, however. Poor African Americans are more likely to die from complications of the disease than those in other ethnic groups. This is most likely due to poor health care in certain communities, limited access to drugs that can potentially save their lives and less education. Affluent African Americans have the same chance as other ethnic groups of dying from complications of the disease.

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