World Diabetes Day: Global spike in diabetes, about a quarter of cases in India

Over 82 crore people across the world have diabetes, out of which about a quarter are in India, according to findings of a study published by The Lancet journal on the eve of World Diabetes Day observed each year on November 14.

This, reports say, is about four times the number in 1990 with the highest increase being in countries having low and middle incomes.

Researchers said that between 1990 and 2022, the rate of diabetes treatment stagnated in many developing countries and nearly 60 per cent of affected persons did not receive treatment in 2022. In 2022, almost a third of the persons with untreated diabetes lived in India.

Of the 82 crore diabetic persons, 21.2 crore are in India and 14.8 crore in China. Another 4.2 crore, 3.6 crore and 2.2 crore are in the US, Pakistan and Brazil, respectively, the study stated.

"Our findings suggest there is an increasing share of people with diabetes, especially with untreated diabetes, living in low and middle-income countries," Jean Claude Mbanya of the University of Yaounde, who is among the authors of the study, said. "Most people with untreated diabetes will not have received a diagnosis, therefore increasing detection of diabetes must be an urgent priority in countries with low levels of treatment," he added.

The study was carried out by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), a global network of health scientists that provides expansive data on risk factors for non-communicable diseases for 200 countries in collaboration with the World Health Organisation.

Undiagnosed diabetes has been linked with complications such as diabetic retinopathy, when high levels of blood sugar damage the eye's retina which can potentially cause vision loss and blindness.

According to the study, the global diabetes rates doubled in men from 6.8 per cent in 1990 to 14.3 per cent in 2022, while in women these increased from 6.9 per cent to 13.9 per cent during this period.

In India, the rates went up from 11.9 per cent in 1990 to 24 per cent in 2022 in women, while in men these went up from 11.3 per cent to 21.4 per cent, the study states. On the other hand, treatment coverage only increased marginally from 21.6 per cent to 27.8 per cent in women and from 25.3 per cent to 29.3 per cent in men during this period.

Changing lifestyle and eating habits, limited access to healthcare, socio-economic constraints, cultural perceptions and lack of awareness are among reasons attributed by experts for the increase in diabetic cases and low level of treatment.