A recent report from the International Diabetes Foundation revealed that one in 10 adults worldwide lived with diabetes in 2021.
These statistics amounted to over 567 million adults living with the disease and as seen in the 10th edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas, this number was predicted to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045.
The report discussed the continued global increase in diabetes prevalence, confirming diabetes as a significant global challenge to the health and well-being of individuals, families, and societies.
According to the report, 81 per cent of the affected adults (about four in five) lived in low and middle-income countries.
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Diabetes led to 6.7 million deaths in 2021 i.e one diabetes-related death occurred every five seconds, the report noted.
A South African Professor in Diabetes, Ayesha Motala, who was part of the research team, stated that the prevalence of COVID-19 has placed an additional burden on diabetic patients.
In her statement, published in The Conversation on Monday, Motala said,
“The urgency is even greater because COVID-19 has placed an additional burden on people living with diabetes, making them more susceptible to the worst complications.
We are yet to see the impact of lockdowns, the use of masks, and the potential risk of COVID-induced diabetes on population health. There is a widely held concern that the pandemic may have caused a further rise in the prevalence of diabetes and its complications that will manifest over the coming years.”
