True Spread of Diabetes Epidemic Revealed

An international collaboration of scientists has just released the conclusion of a major global study on the spread of diabetes since 1980. The conclusions are grim, showing that more than 347 million people suffer from the condition.

This number was achieved in 2008 – the last year for which complete figures are available – and represents nearly double the number of patients that were recorded in 1980. Diabetes has therefore spread to twice as many people in just 28 years.

Experts say that the most relevant data from around the world were used to arrive at these numbers, and that every bit of information was checked and double-checked. This study is one of the most important ever conducted on the issue.

The paper describing the findings in detail is published in the latest issue of the medical journal Lancet. It shows how diabetes increased its incidence in all parts of the world, save for some small areas where it remained at the same levels it was at in 1980.

The diseases – which occurs when cells can no longer process a form of sugar called glucose – affects the kidneys, nerves and retinas, and can eventually lead to stroke and other forms of heart disease.

It is estimated that more than 3 million people die on account of diabetes and its complication every year, and scientists still haven't found a way to eradicate the condition. Treatments to manage it exist, and some are more efficient than others, but a complete cure has not yet been synthesized.

The work, conducted in collaboration with the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and a number of other institutions, was led by Imperial College London (ICL) professor Majid Ezzati and co-led by Harvard School of Public Health investigator Dr. Goodarz Danaei.

At this point, 9.8 percent of men and 9.2 percent of women suffer from the condition, a steep increase from 8.3 and 7.5 percent in 1980, respectively. This was the largest diabetes study ever conducted.

“Diabetes is one of the biggest causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Our study has shown that diabetes is becoming more common almost everywhere in the world,” Ezzati explains.

“This is in contrast to blood pressure and cholesterol, which have both fallen in many regions. Diabetes is much harder to prevent and treat than these other conditions,” the team leader goes on to say, quoted by Science Blog.

“Unless we develop better programmes for detecting people with elevated blood sugar and helping them to improve their diet and physical activity and control their weight, diabetes will inevitably continue to impose a major burden on health systems around the world,” Danaei concludes.