Over Half a Billion People May Have Diabetes by 2030
The International Diabetes Federation estimated that 522 million people could have diabetes by 2030, that’s 1 in every 10 adults, according to statistics released on Monday.
The report included both types of diabetes and predictions were based on factors like aging and demographic changes.
The group expects the number of cases during that time to jump by 90 percent even in Africa, where infectious diseases have previously been the top focus of health care systems, the IDF said.
Projecting that the number of diabetes deaths will double by 2030, the World Health Organization says there are about 346 million people worldwide with diabetes, with more than 80 percent of deaths occurring in developing countries, the AP noted.
As most cases of diabetes are Type 2, which mainly effects the middle aged and is linked to weight gain, Gojka Roglic, head of WHO’s diabetes unit, told the AP, that the projected future rise in diabetes cases was due to aging as opposed to the epidemic of obesity.
Roglic told the AP that it’s sad but if the right interventions are taken, then the large number of future diabetes cases can be preventable.
"It's worrying because these people will have an illness which is serious, debilitating, and shortens their lives," she said. "But it doesn't have to happen if we take the right interventions."