Latest diabetes figures paint grim global picture

A staggering 285 million people worldwide have diabetes, according to new data released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The latest figures from the IDF Diabetes Atlas indicate that people in low and middle-income countries (LMCs) are bearing the brunt of the epidemic, and that the disease is affecting far more people of working age than previously believed.

In 1985, the best data available suggested that 30 million people had diabetes worldwide. Fast-forward 15 years and the numbers were revised to just over 150 million. Today, less than 10 years on, the new figures ' launched at the 20th World Diabetes Congress in Montreal, Canada ' put the number closer to 300 million, with more than half aged between 20 and 60. The IDF predicts that, if the current rate of growth continues unchecked, the total number will exceed 435 million in 2030 ' many more people than the current population of North America.

Professor Jean Claude Mbanya, President of the International Diabetes Federation, voiced concern: 'The data from the latest edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas show that the epidemic is out of control. We are losing ground in the struggle to contain diabetes. No country is immune and no country is fully equipped to repel this common enemy.'