A series of studies published in ‘The Lancet’ estimates that the number of people living with diabetes will double by 2050.
The researchers predict more than 1.3 billion people could suffer from the disease in 30 years – up from 529 million in 2021 – if there is no effort to address what they describe as a “global crisis”.
The rate of increase is even higher among minority groups which the authors of the report put down to racism and global inequalities.
The series looked at the impact of structural racism on diabetes rates, especially in high-income countries like the US where rates of the illness are 1.5 times higher among minority groups.
According to the series lead, Dr Dhivani Agarwal, associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York: “Diabetes remains one of the biggest public health threats of our time and is set to grow aggressively over the coming three decades in every country, age group, and sex, posing a serious challenge to healthcare systems worldwide”.
“Racist policies such as residential segregation affect where people live, their access to sufficient and healthy food and health care services,” said Professor Leonard Egede from the Medical College of Wisconsin in the US and one of the co-authors.
Death Rates Double in Poorer Countries
By 2045, three-quarters of adults living with diabetes will be in low and middle-income countries, where there is less access to care for the disease. Diabetes death rates in these countries are also double those in high-income countries, the authors said.
Lower spending on healthcare, food insecurity and limited access to medicine all “contribute to poorer outcomes” for those with diabetes, according to the study.
Advocacy Action: Can you draw the report to the attention of your health planners and colleagues? Is your country prepared for a doubling of people with diabetes over the next 30 years? Can you advocate for a plan to meet the growing challenges?
https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/06/ 23/cases-of-diabetes-could-double-by-2050-to-affect-13-billion-people-new-study-reveals