What causes diabetes, what are the different types and how can it be treated?
IndependentAPR 2 2023
Research by the Imperial College London has found that over 800M adults globally had type 1 or type 2 diabetes in 2022, reportedly more than four times the figure in 1990. The problem has worsened the most in low- and middle-income countries (LMCs), according to the study.
Published in the Lancet on World Diabetes Day, the study showed almost 450M of the diabetics aged 30 and above (or 59%) as untreated — 90% of them in LMCs. If untreated, this chronic metabolic disease damages key organs like the heart, blood vessels, and nerves.
The 2022 global figure is nearly double the earlier WHO estimate of 422M. In rich nations like Japan and Canada, the rate has either been stable or fallen. India topped the table with over a fourth of 828M. Similarly, only 5-10% sub-Saharan adult diabetics received treatment.