Millions of people around the world are affected by diabetes without knowing it: it is a silent epidemic that has long-term effects on health.
Almost half of the people in the world who suffer from diabetes, millions of patients, are not aware of having a chronic disease and do not receive treatment. However, among those who have a diagnosis and are undergoing treatment, achieving optimal control of blood sugar levels is not a given, on the contrary: less than one in two patients succeeds. The one outlined in an article on Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology it is the picture of a disease that is still elusive and not well managed, which if not treated can have lethal effects and which could affect 1.3 billion people by 2050.
Inequalities to be remedied
The work conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine analyzed care at every stage of the relationship with diabetes for patients of all ages and genders in 204 countries, from 2000 to 2023. In 2023, 44% of people with diabetes aged 15 years or older were unaware of their condition.
Missed diagnoses were more widespread among young adults, those who will have to live with the disease for longer and who are therefore more at risk of serious effects if they do not keep it at bay. Diabetes is also a story of a right to health that is not always guaranteed: in central and sub-Saharan Africa less than 20% of those who suffer from it know they have it.
Continuity in care
91% of those diagnosed take some form of medication. However, only 42% of those who receive treatment against diabetes are actually able to optimally manage their glycaemia, i.e. the concentration of sugar in the blood: correct monitoring of glycaemia is essential for calibrating the dosage of insulin to be taken, for planning diet and physical activity, identifying and preventing hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia (too low or too high levels of blood sugar, the most dangerous drifts for those suffering from diabetes).
North America has the highest rates of correctly diagnosed patients, while high-income nations in Asia and the Pacific have the highest rates of cured individuals among those diagnosed. The southernmost countries of South America have the highest rates of correct blood sugar management among those taking anti-diabetes drugs.
There is still much to do
Overall, between lack of awareness and insufficient access to treatments, only 21% of people in the world who suffer from diabetes manage to have optimal management of the disease.
Given the projections on how the condition will spread between now and the middle of the century, and the spread of obesity especially among young people and children, urgent investments are needed in screening programs in the younger population, and the guarantee of access – everywhere, and especially in developing countries – to drugs and devices for blood sugar monitoring.
