'Alarming' rise in diabetes globally by 2050- study
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[June 23, 2023]
By Jennifer Rigby
LONDON (Reuters) - Every country in the world will see rates of diabetes
rise in the next 30 years without action, according to a new global
study.
There are currently 529 million people in the world with diabetes, the
study led by researchers at the Institute of Health Metrics and
Evaluation at the University of Washington found. They projected that
this will more than double to around 1.3 billion people by 2050.
The majority of the cases are type 2 diabetes, the form of the disease
that is linked to obesity and largely preventable, the researchers said.
The increase in prevalence globally is not uniform: Some countries and
regions are particularly badly hit. For example, prevalence rates are
expected to reach 16.8% in North Africa and the Middle East and 11.3% in
Latin America and the Caribbean by 2050, compared to an estimated 9.8%
globally. Currently, the prevalence is 6.1%. But every country will be
impacted, researchers said.
“The rapid rate at which diabetes is growing is not only alarming but
also challenging for every health system in the world,” said Liane Ong,
lead author of the paper, pointing out that the condition is linked to a
number of other heart conditions such as heart disease and stroke.
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Insulin supplies are pictured in the
Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 18,
2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
The growing numbers of people with
diabetes is in part driven by rising obesity, and in part by
demographic shifts: Prevalence is higher among older adults, the
study showed. The data from 204 countries does not take into account
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic because those numbers were not
yet available, researchers said.
The study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is part
of a wider series on diabetes published on Thursday in The Lancet
medical journal. The series calls for more effective mitigation
strategies and an awareness of inequality, with the majority of
diabetes patients living in low- and middle-income countries and
unable to access proper treatment.
(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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