PARIS: The percentage of adults suffering from diabetes across the world has doubled over the past three decades, the biggest rises coming in developing countries, a study said Wednesday.

The serious health condition affected around 14 per cent of all adults worldwide in 2022, compared to seven per cent in 1990, according to the new analysis in The Lancet journal.

Taking into account the growing global population, the team of researchers estimated that more than 800 million people are now diabetic, compared to less than 200 million in 1990.

These figures include both main types of diabetes. Type 1 affects patients from a young age and is more difficult to treat because it is caused by an insulin deficiency.

Type 2 mainly affects middle-aged or older people who lose their sensitivity to insulin. Behind the global numbers, national figures varied widely.

The rate of diabetes stayed the same or even fell in some wealthier countries, such as Japan, Canada or Western European nations such as France and Denmark, the study said. “The burden of diabetes and untreated diabetes is increasingly borne by low-income and middle-income countries,” it added.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2024