Prevalence of diabetes in a Navajo Indian community.

The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) of 494 (76 per cent) Navajo adults living in a reservation community was 10.2 per cent, approximately 60 per cent greater than the estimated prevalence (6.4 per cent) in the general US population. The screening protocol utilized likely underestimates the prevalence of NIDDM in this population. A high proportion of Navajo people was overweight when compared to the general US population.