A new citywide survey finds that nearly 13% of the city's adults have diabetes and that about one-third of them—almost 4% of city residents—do not know it. 

 

The first New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HANES)—and the first community-level HANES survey in the country, health department officials say—used a one-time screening test to estimate diabetes prevalence among approximately 2,000 randomly selected New Yorkers from 144 neighborhoods across all boroughs. 

 

The survey also shows that another 23.5% of adults have prediabetes and that nearly half of all Asian New Yorkers have either diabetes or prediabetes, according to press officials at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

 

The prevalence of diabetes among Asians, the survey shows, is 16% (nearly 1 in 6). Significantly more Asians—32%–-have prediabetes compared with other ethnic groups.

 

Among men and women of all ethnicities who have diabetes, the findings show, 52% have well-controlled diabetes (A1c less than 7), 32% have moderately poorly controlled blood sugar, and about 16% have very poorly controlled blood sugar (A1c greater than 9%). 

 

Poor diabetes control appears to be common even among people with access to health care. Of New Yorkers with diagnosed diabetes that is uncontrolled, 94% have some sort of health insurance, including Medicaid.