More than 800 million people around the world have diabetes, research shows

According to a groundbreaking international study, the number of people with diabetes has doubled in the past thirty years to more than 800 million worldwide.

A global analysis published in the Lancet shows that diabetes rates in adults have doubled from around 7% to around 14% between 1990 and 2022, with the biggest increases in low- and middle-income countries.

The study is the first global analysis of diabetes rates and treatment in all countries. Scientists at NCD-RisC in collaboration with the World Health Organization, used data from more than 140 million people aged 18 years or older from more than 1,000 studies in different countries. They applied statistical tools to enable accurate comparisons of prevalence and treatment between countries and regions.

The research revealed growing health inequalities. More than half of global diabetes cases were concentrated in four countries. Of the people with diabetes in 2022, more than a quarter (212 million) lived in India, 148 million in China, 42 million in the US and 36 million in Pakistan. Indonesia and Brazil accounted for another 25 million and 22 million cases respectively.

In some countries in the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, more than 25% of female and male populations have diabetes, the study found, while the US (12.5% ) and the United Kingdom (8.8%) had the highest diabetes rates. diabetes rates in high-income Western countries.

In contrast, the diabetes rate in 2022 was only 2-4% for women in France, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden, and 3-5% for men in Denmark, France, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Spain and Rwanda.

Increased obesity, alongside an aging global population, means that more and more people are at greater risk of developing diabetes.

Dr. Ranjit Mohan Anjana, the joint first author and chairman of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation in India said: “Given the debilitating and potentially fatal consequences of diabetes, preventing diabetes through healthy diet and exercise is essential for better health around the world.

“Our findings highlight the need for more ambitious policies, especially in lower-income regions of the world, that limit unhealthy food, make healthy food affordable and improve opportunities for physical activity, through measures such as healthy food subsidies and free healthy school meals. as well as promoting safe places to walk and exercise, including free access to public parks and fitness centers.”

Despite the availability of effective, off-patent glucose-lowering medications, the lack of treatment also creates inequality, the study found. While many, often higher-income countries, have seen dramatic improvements in treatment rates, with more than 55% of adult diabetics receiving treatment by 2022, in many low- and middle-income countries the proportion receiving treatment has not improved.

As a result, more than half of adults with diabetes – 445 million (59%) – aged 30 and over were not receiving treatment in 2022.

A senior author of the study, Prof. Majid Ezzati, from Imperial College London, said: “Our study highlights rising global diabetes inequalities, with treatment rates stagnating in many low- and middle-income countries, where the number of adults with diabetes increases dramatically. This is especially concerning because people with diabetes in low-income countries are often younger and, in the absence of effective treatment, are at risk of lifelong complications – including amputation, heart disease, kidney damage or vision loss – or in some cases, premature death. ”

Commenting on the findings, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “We have seen an alarming rise in diabetes over the past thirty years, mirroring the rise in obesity, exacerbated by the consequences of the marketing of unhealthy food. a lack of physical activity and economic hardship.

“To control the global diabetes epidemic, countries must take urgent action. This starts with establishing policies that support healthy diets and physical activity and, most importantly, healthcare systems that provide prevention, early detection and treatment.”

Chantal Mathieu, president of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, said: “(Diabetes) has reached pandemic proportions and poses a serious threat to both public health and the economy.”

Policymakers should “adopt preventive strategies, expand access to screening and support initiatives for better long-term management,” she added.