Diabetes cases are on the rise worldwide. For around thirty years, the trend has primarily affected the least wealthy countries, shows a study published on Wednesday November 13, 2024 in the Lancet.
According to this work, carried out by compiling a large number of studies previously carried out in most countries in the world, diabetes will affect around 14% of adults worldwide in 2022, compared to around 7% in 1990. Taking into account the population increase, researchers estimate that more than 800 million people are diabetic, compared to less than 200 million in the early 1990s.
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These figures include the two main forms of diabetes: type 1, which affects patients from a very young age and is often more difficult to treat because it is directly caused by an insulin deficiency, and type 2, which strikes relatively elderly people due to loss of insulin sensitivity.
Behind these global estimates, the reality is different depending on the country. In rich countries, such as those of Western Europe or Japan, the frequency of diabetes tends to stabilize, or sometimes even decline slightly. On the other hand, “the weight of diabetes […] is shifting more and more to low- and middle-income countries”note the researchers.
For example, almost a third of Pakistani women are now diabetic, compared to less than a tenth in 1990.
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Inequality in treatment
Researchers particularly emphasize that type 2 diabetes tends to progress in countries where obesity is increasingly common, as is poor diet.
They also emphasize inequalities in treatment. While diabetes is increasing in less wealthy countries, this is not necessarily the case for the share of the population being treated for the disease. Thus, in sub-Saharan Africa, the authors estimate that only 5% to 10% of adults with diabetes benefit from treatment.
Although some developing countries, such as Mexico, perform well in terms of population treatment, the general trend is towards “a growing global gap between the prevalence of diabetes and its treatment”conclude the authors.
