More than 800 million people affected and some treated, research suggests
PUBLISHED: 14 Nov 2024 at 18: 42
A new research found that more than 800 million people worldwide have diabetes, which is nearly twice as many as previous estimations had predicted, and that more than half of those over the age of 30 are not receiving treatment.
The authors of the study, which was published in The Lancet, suggest that the rise in diabetes cases has been largely attributable to rising cases in low- and middle-income nations. The global prevalence has increased from around 7 % to 14 % since 1990.
The authors claimed that while there are much more cases, the number of cases treated in those areas has hardly increased while some higher-income nations ‘ conditions have improved, opening the treatment gap.
In 2022, there were around 828 million people aged 18 years and older with type 1 and type 2 diabetes international, the investigation found. Among people aged 30 years and older, 445 million, or 59 % of them, were not receiving cure, the authors said.
The World Health Organization has recently estimated that about 422 million people have diabetes, a chronic physiological disorder involving blood sugar levels, which can damage the heart, blood vessels, emotions and other tissues if neglected.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, said in a statement that the surge documented in the investigation was disturbing.
” To take the world diabetes epidemic under control, states must immediately get motion”, he said, including with guidelines supporting healthier diets and physical activity, as well as health systems that can prevent, detect and treat the condition.
In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, just 5-10 % of those estimated to have diabetes were getting care, said Jean Claude Mbanya, professor at the University of Yaounde I in Cameroon. Treating insulin, either with insulin or pharmaceuticals, can be costly.
” A huge number (are ) at risk of serious health complications”, he said.
The creators claim that the study, which was conducted by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration and the WHO, is the first worldwide analysis to contain costs and care projections for all nations. It is based on more than 1, 000 experiments involving more than 140 million people.
High fasting blood glucose levels and higher glycated hemoglobin, both of which are common diagnostic tests for the problem, were included in the definition of diabetes, as well as taking diabetes medication.
The authors claimed that both tests were used to reduce prices in some places around the world, especially South Asia, where fasting plasma glucose only caused cases to decline.
Although the investigation was unable to distinguish between type 1 and type 2 circumstances, the writers claimed that obesity and poor diet have contributed to the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in people.  ,