Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012, says report.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
Around 422 million adults live with diabetes across the world, a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) says. The report also says that most of the diabetes-affected people are living in developing countries.
“The number of people living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million adults, with most living in developing countries. Factors driving this dramatic rise include overweight and obesity,” WHO said.
The first WHO Global report on diabetes was published on Wednesday ahead of World Health Day. In the report, WHO highlights the need to step up prevention and treatment of the disease.
The report noted that the number of people living with diabetes and its prevalence is growing in all regions of the world. In 2014, 422 million adults (or 8.5% of the population) had diabetes, compared with 108 million (4.7%) in 1980.
In 2014, more than 1 in 3 adults aged over 18 years were overweight and more than one in 10 were obese.
Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012. Higher-than-optimal blood glucose caused an additional 2.2 million deaths by increasing the risks of cardiovascular and other diseases.
Many of these deaths (43%) occur prematurely, before the age of 70 years, and are largely preventable through the adoption of policies to create supportive environments for healthy lifestyles and better detection and treatment of the disease.
The report says that the complications of diabetes can lead to heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputation.
Among Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, Type 2 accounts for the vast majority of people living with diabetes globally and is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity. Once seen only in adults, type 2 diabetes is now increasingly occurring in children and young people.
“Many cases of diabetes can be prevented, and measures exist to detect and manage the condition, improving the odds that people with diabetes live long and healthy lives,” said Dr. Oleg Chestnov, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for NCDs and Mental Health.
“But change greatly depends on governments doing more, including by implementing global commitments to address diabetes and other NCDs,” he added.
WHO proposes measures include expanding health-promoting environments to reduce diabetes risk factors, like physical inactivity and unhealthy diets, and strengthening national capacities to help people with diabetes receive the treatment and care they need to manage their conditions.
“If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.
“Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes,” he added.