Researchers from the Global Burden of Disease Collaboration conducted a systematic assessment and modeling of diabetes diagnosis and treatment in 204 countries and territories from 2000 to 2023. According to their data, only slightly more than half of people with diabetes aged 15 years and older are aware of their condition, and of these individuals, only about one-fifth adequately control their blood glucose levels. The results of the study were published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most serious global health problems, significantly impacting disability and mortality, and its prevalence is growing. Various highly effective methods for glycemic control have recently emerged, but the system for diagnosing, treating, and monitoring its effectiveness remains far from perfect. To address this situation, comprehensive and up-to-date data on the current state of affairs is essential.
Lauryn Stafford of the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues conducted a systematic analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, including cross-sectional population-representative surveys, scientific publications, and gray literature. They were used to estimate the proportion of people with diabetes who were undiagnosed, diagnosed but not treated, and receiving treatment (insulin or any other antidiabetic agent) with poor or satisfactory glycemic control. Using hierarchical Bayesian meta-regression, these parameters were modeled by location, year, age, and gender, and scaled to all people with diabetes in a given population.
According to the study's authors, only 55.8 percent of people with diabetes were diagnosed in 2023. Of those diagnosed, 91.4 percent were receiving some kind of treatment, but only 41.6 percent had adequate glycemic control. Among all people with diabetes, 21.2 percent achieved adequate glycemic control. The highest proportion of people diagnosed was in high-income countries in North America, those receiving treatment in high-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and those with adequate glycemic control in southern Latin America. The situation was worst in central sub-Saharan Africa. Compared with 2000, the proportion of people diagnosed increased by 8.3 percentage points, those receiving treatment among those diagnosed increased by 7.2 percentage points, and those with optimal glycemic control among those being treated increased by 1.3 percentage points.
Thus, despite some progress achieved over the past two decades, underdiagnosis of diabetes and suboptimal glycemic control remain a serious global problem, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Previous estimates showed that the number of people with diabetes has quadrupled over the past 30 years, and the number of children with diabetes has increased by 40 percent. The number of people with this disease is projected to increase from 529 million in 2021 to 1.3 billion in 2050.
