Worldwide Diabetes Levels See Huge Increase

Unless something changes fast, the world can expect to face a steep rise in diabetes rates, says a new report. The study, published in The Lancet (2016; 38 7 [10027], 1513–30), found that the number of people with diabetes (note: the study did not differentiate between type 1 and type 2) jumped from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. That’s an increase nearly equal to the entire population of the United States.

While that increase is staggering, the goal of the report—which involved nearly 500 researchers worldwide, 751 studies and 4.4 million people—was to estimate future diabetes growth based on current trends. The authors also wanted to learn the probability of returning to 2010 levels of diabetes by 2025. Their conclusions are discouraging.

More than 700 million people will have diabetes by 2025, according to the data projections. And what about that reversal goal?

“If post-2000 trends continue, the probability of meeting the global target of halting the rise in the prevalence of diabetes by 2025 at the 2010 level worldwide is lower than 1% for men and is 1% for women,” said the researchers.