DEKYAS NEWS World Breaking News and Trusted Source
Related Articles
More than 800 million adults worldwide have diabetes – almost twice as many as previous estimates suggested – and more than half of people over 30 who have the condition are not receiving treatment, a new study shows.
The study published in The Lancet found that the global prevalence of diabetes has doubled since 1990 – from seven percent to 14 percent – and the authors suggest that the increase is largely driven by the rising number of cases in low- and middle-income countries.
Although there are many more cases, treatment rates in those regions have barely increased, the authors said, while things have improved in some higher-income countries – leading to a widening treatment gap.
In 2022, there were about 828 million people aged 18 and over with type 1 and type 2 diabetes worldwide, the study found. Among adults aged 30 and older, 445 million – or 59 percent of them – received no treatment, the authors said.
The World Health Organization previously estimated that about 422 million people have diabetes, a chronic metabolic disease involving blood sugar levels that can damage the heart, blood vessels, nerves and other organs if left untreated.
Director General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a statement that the increase documented in the study was alarming.
Doctors say that in addition to higher rates of diabetes, black people experience significantly more amputations, largely due to delayed diagnosis and treatment. That has led to a push for better screening among Black Canadians.
“To control the global diabetes epidemic, countries must take urgent action,” he said, including policies to support healthy diets and physical activity, as well as health care systems that can prevent, detect and treat the condition.
In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, only five to 10 percent of people with diabetes are estimated to have received treatment, said Jean Claude Mbanya, a professor at the University of Yaounde I in Cameroon. Treating diabetes, with insulin or medications, can be expensive.
“A huge number [are] with the risk of serious health complications,” he said.
The study was conducted by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration and WHO, and is the first global analysis to include rates and treatment estimates for all countries, the authors said. It is based on more than 1,000 studies involving more than 140 million people.
Diabetes was defined as a person with high fasting plasma glucose levels and high glycated hemoglobin – both common diagnostic criteria for the condition – or who is taking medications for diabetes. The authors said both tests were used to avoid underestimating the figures in parts of the world, particularly in South Asia, where using fasting plasma glucose alone missed some cases.
Although the study could not separate cases of type 1 and type 2, previous evidence has suggested that most diabetes in adults is type 2, which is linked to obesity and poor diet, the authors said.
