Diabetes in Hispanics is a serious health challenge because of the increased prevalence, the greater number of risk factors, and the greater incidence of complications. In early 1999, data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that six percent of Hispanic adults in the United States and Puerto Rico have been diagnosed with diabetes--twice the rate of Caucasian Americans--while another six percent have undiagnosed diabetes. This is the first report of diabetes prevalence among all Hispanics in the United States and Puerto Rico. Most previous studies that have focused on the Hispanic community have been conducted among Mexican Americans and have found that approximately one out of every ten Mexican Americans aged twenty years and older has diabetes.