Mellitus Diabetes mellitus, a chronic condition characterized by abnormal glucose metabolism, is a major health problem and cause of increased mortality among women of color.
Older women are more likely to have diabetes than middle-aged women.
The difference between the shares of middle-aged and elderly Yaqui and Navajo women with diabetes is around 40 percentage points. The highest prevalence of diabetes was found among Yaqui Indian women. On the other hand, Alaska Native women tend to have much lower prevalence of diabetes. The manifestations of diabetes mellitus vary only slightly among women of color. In one study of Navajos, gestational diabetes was identified in 6 percent of all pregnancies.