Diabetes rates skyrocket globally with millions left untreated

Of the 828 million adults with diabetes in 2022, over a quarter (212 million) lived in India with another 148 million in China, followed by the USA (42 million), Pakistan (36 million), Indonesia (25 million) and Brazil (22 million).

A global study with global data 

The new study, conducted by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), is the first global analysis of trends in both diabetes rates and treatment which includes all countries. Researchers used data from over 140 million people aged 18 years or older from more than 1,000 studies in populations of different countries.

Global rates of diabetes doubled over the last two decades 

Substantial global variations in diabetes rates in 2022 

The countries with the lowest rates of diabetes in 2022 were in western Europe and east Africa for both sexes, and in Japan and Canada for women. For example, diabetes rates in 2022 were as low as 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.

Widening global inequalities in diabetes treatment 

Three out of five (59%) of adults aged 30 years and older with diabetes, a total of 445 million, were not receiving medication for diabetes in 2022, three and half times the number in 1990 (129 million).

In 2022, almost one third (133 million, 30%) of the 445 million adults aged 30 years or older with untreated diabetes lived in India, more than 50% greater than the next largest number which was in China (78 million) because treatment coverage was higher in China (45% for women and 41% for men) than in India (28% for women and 29% for men). Similarly, Pakistan (24 million) and Indonesia (18 million), the next two countries with the largest number of untreated diabetes, surpassed the USA (13 million), which had higher treatment coverage (65% for women and 67% for men).

Source:

The Lancet

Journal reference:

NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)., (2024). Worldwide trends in diabetes prevalence and treatment from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 1108 population-representative studies with 141 million participants. The Lancet. doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(24)02317-1.