Diabetes is not contagious. People cannot "catch" it from each other. However, certain factors can increase the risk of developing diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes occurs equally among males and females, but is more common in whites than in nonwhites. Data from the World Health Organization's Multinational Project for Childhood Diabetes indicate that type 1 diabetes is rare in most African, American Indian, and Asian populations. However, some northern European countries, including Finland and Sweden, have high rates of type 1 diabetes. The reasons for these differences are unknown.
Type 2 diabetes is more common in older people, especially in people who are overweight, and occurs more often in African Americans, American Indians, some Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander Americans, and Hispanic Americans. On average, non-Hispanic African Americans are 1.6 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of the same age. Hispanic Americans are 1.5 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age. American Indians have one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world. On average, American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.2 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age. Although prevalence data for diabetes among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are limited, some groups, such as Native Hawaiians and Japanese and Filipino residents of Hawaii aged 20 or older, are about twice as likely to have diabetes as white residents of Hawaii of similar age.
The prevalence of diabetes in the United States is likely to increase for several reasons. First, a large segment of the population is aging. Also, Hispanic Americans and other minority groups make up the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. Finally, Americans are increasingly overweight and sedentary. According to recent estimates, the prevalence of diabetes in the United States is predicted to reach 8.9 percent of the population by 2025.