The published findings highlight the need for immediate global action to address this epidemic, the UN health agency said.
The study was conducted by the NCD Risk Factors Collaboration (NCD-RisC), a global network of 1,500 researchers and professionals in collaboration with the WHO.
It is the first global analysis of trends in both diabetes rates and treatment coverage based on data from 140 million people worldwide aged 18 years and older.
The analysis revealed a doubling of diabetes cases from seven to 14 percent between 1990 and 2022 and almost 450 million adults (60 percent of those affected) remain without treatment. This emergency particularly affects low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 90% of untreated cases are found.
“We have seen an alarming increase in diabetes over the past three decades, reflecting the rise in obesity, compounded by the impacts of unhealthy food marketing, lack of physical activity and economic hardship,” warned the director. WHO General Tedros Adhanom. Ghebreyesus.
Regional challenges
The Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions face the highest burden, with approximately 20 percent of adults affected.
These regions, along with Africa, report the lowest treatment rates: fewer than four in 10 diabetic adults take glucose-lowering medications.
In response to these challenges, WHO is launching a new global monitoring framework, focusing on key indicators, including glycemic control and access to essential medicines.
This product represents a crucial step in the global response, providing comprehensive guidance to countries measuring and evaluating diabetes prevention, care, outcomes and impacts.
This initiative complements the 2021 Global Diabetes Pact, which aims to ensure equitable access to comprehensive care. The framework represents a crucial step in standardizing diabetes prevention and treatment approaches across different health systems around the world, the WHO said.
Way forward
“To control the global diabetes epidemic, countries must take urgent action,” Tedros emphasized.
“This begins with enacting policies that support healthy diets and physical activity and, most importantly, health systems that provide prevention, early detection and treatment,” he added.
WHO has set ambitious targets that include 80 percent of diagnosed diabetes patients achieving good glycemic control by 2030. This goal is a broader strategy to address the root causes of the epidemic while improving the access to essential treatments.
