Study: More Than 800 Million Have Diabetes Worldwide, Many Untreated
2024-12-03
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1A new study reports that more than 800 million adults have diabetes worldwide.
2And more than half of those aged over 30 who have the condition are not receiving treatment.
3Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar level is too high.
4If untreated, it can damage the heart, blood vessels, nerves and other organs.
5The study, recently published in the publication Lancet, found that around 828 million people aged 18 and older had diabetes worldwide in 2022.
6Among those 30 and older, the study said 445 million, or 59 percent, were not receiving treatment.
7The study was done by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration and the World Health Organization (WHO).
8It is the first worldwide evaluation based on more than 1,000 studies involving more than 140 million people.
9The WHO estimated that the number of people living with diabetes worldwide rose from 200 million in 1990 to about 830 million in 2022.
10The study's researchers say the increase has been caused largely by rising cases in low- and middle-income countries.
11Treatments in those countries have not kept up with the rise, while the situation has improved in some higher-income countries.
12WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that the increase shown in the study was shocking.
13"To bring the global diabetes epidemic under control, countries must urgently take action," he said.
14Those actions should include policies supporting healthy diets and physical activity, as well as health systems that can prevent, identify and treat the condition.
15Jean Claude Mbanya is a professor at the University of Yaounde I in Cameroon.
16He said that in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, only 5-10 percent of those estimated to have diabetes were getting treatment.
17He added that treating diabetes, either with insulin or drugs, can be costly.
18"A huge number (are) at risk of serious health complications," he said.
19Some of the largest improvements, 25 to 37 percentage points, happened in countries in Latin America, central and western Europe, Canada, South Korea, Russia, Seychelles, and Jordan.
20The WHO says the number of deaths caused by diabetes has been increasing since 2000.
21In 2021, the disease was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths.
22The health agency says symptoms of diabetes may happen suddenly or take many years to be noticed. They include:
23feeling very thirsty
24needing to urinate more often than usual
25blurred vision
26feeling tired
27losing weight
28The best way to prevent or delay the illness, the WHO says, is to make lifestyle changes. For example:
29keeping a healthy body weight
30staying active with at least 150 minutes of exercise each week
31eating a healthy diet and avoiding sugar and saturated fat
32not smoking tobacco.
33I'm Jill Robbins.
1A new study reports that more than 800 million adults have diabetes worldwide. And more than half of those aged over 30 who have the condition are not receiving treatment. 2Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar level is too high. If untreated, it can damage the heart, blood vessels, nerves and other organs. 3The study, recently published in the publication Lancet, found that around 828 million people aged 18 and older had diabetes worldwide in 2022. Among those 30 and older, the study said 445 million, or 59 percent, were not receiving treatment. 4The study was done by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration and the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the first worldwide evaluation based on more than 1,000 studies involving more than 140 million people. 5Shocking increase 6The WHO estimated that the number of people living with diabetes worldwide rose from 200 million in 1990 to about 830 million in 2022. The study's researchers say the increase has been caused largely by rising cases in low- and middle-income countries. Treatments in those countries have not kept up with the rise, while the situation has improved in some higher-income countries. 7WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that the increase shown in the study was shocking. "To bring the global diabetes epidemic under control, countries must urgently take action," he said. Those actions should include policies supporting healthy diets and physical activity, as well as health systems that can prevent, identify and treat the condition. 8Treating the disease is costly 9Jean Claude Mbanya is a professor at the University of Yaounde I in Cameroon. He said that in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, only 5-10 percent of those estimated to have diabetes were getting treatment. He added that treating diabetes, either with insulin or drugs, can be costly. "A huge number (are) at risk of serious health complications," he said. 10Some of the largest improvements, 25 to 37 percentage points, happened in countries in Latin America, central and western Europe, Canada, South Korea, Russia, Seychelles, and Jordan. 11The WHO says the number of deaths caused by diabetes has been increasing since 2000. In 2021, the disease was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths. 12Symptoms and prevention 13The health agency says symptoms of diabetes may happen suddenly or take many years to be noticed. They include: 14feeling very thirsty 15needing to urinate more often than usual 16blurred vision 17feeling tired 18losing weight 19The best way to prevent or delay the illness, the WHO says, is to make lifestyle changes. For example: 20keeping a healthy body weight 21staying active with at least 150 minutes of exercise each week 22eating a healthy diet and avoiding sugar and saturated fat 23not smoking tobacco. 24I'm Jill Robbins. 25Jennifer Rigby reported this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted the story for Learning English with additional information from The Lancet and the WHO. 26______________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28evaluate - v. to judge the value or condition of (someone or something) in a careful and thoughtful way 29income - n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc. 30global - adj. involving the entire world 31insulin - n. a substance that your body makes and uses to turn sugar into energy 32What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.