CardioExchange Archive

In 2008, some 347 million people in the world had diabetes, more than twice the 153 million in 1980, according to estimates contained in a report in the Lancet from the Global Burden of Metabolic Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases Collaborating Group. The paper appears in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association.

Throughout  the world diabetes prevalence has risen or, at best, stayed the same over the past 30 years, the authors report. Although most of the increase was due to population growth and an increased proportion of elderly people, 30% of the increase was due to an increase in risk factors such as obesity.

Using data from 2.7 million participants in various health surveys and epidemiological studies, they calculated for 2008 a mean FPG (fasting plasma glucose) of 5.50 mmol/L for men and 5.42 mmol/L for women. This represents a rise of  0.07 mmol/L in men and 0.09 mmol/L in women per decade.

Diabetes prevalence in 2008 was 9.8% in men and 9.2% in women, up from 8.3%  and 7.5% in 1980. The highest levels and the biggest increase in FPG occurred in Oceania.

The authors write that “glycemia and diabetes are a rising global hazard.” In a Lancet press release, Majid Ezzati, an author of the report, said: “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. 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.”