What Percentage Of People Have Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes: Statistics And Facts

• When to Seek Help

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition in which blood sugar levels are excessively high. It’s the most common form of diabetes, affecting more than 34 million Americans, or just over 10% of the U.S. population. Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90% to 95% of all diabetes cases in the country.

Type 2 diabetes is associated with a range of lifestyle risk factors including obesity and lack of exercise. It usually develops in those over the age of 45 and occurs when the body becomes less sensitive to the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin.

This article looks at the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, its causes and risk factors, and the life expectancy of those with the condition. It also covers ways to prevent diabetes.

Diabetes And Eye Disease

• Between 2001-2006, the number of Albertans with diabetes who had an eye examination within 3 years of their diagnosis fell from 58% to 49%, despite that the number of examinations provided by ophthalmologists over the past 15 years to people with diabetes has doubled. This suggests that there is an unmet need for ophthalmologists in Alberta.
• Cataracts were over 4 times as common in Albertans with diabetes compared to the general population in 2009.

Diabetes And Foot Complications

• In 2009, people with diabetes were twice as likely to have foot disease than the general population.
• People with diabetes who are 75 years or older have the highest rates of foot disease.
• The rate of lower limb amputation has remained steady over the last 15 years, with people with diabetes being 15 times more likely to have a lower limb amputation than people without diabetes.
• Men are twice as likely to have lower limb amputations than women in Alberta.
• In the metro Edmonton and Calgary health zones the rates of diabetic foot disease and lower limb amputations were the lowest.

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Diabetes And Mental Health

• People with diabetes have a higher prevalence of mental health disorders when compared to the general population.
• Over the last 19 years, rates of non-organic psychoses have consistently increased in people with diabetes but have remained stable in the general population.
• Younger adults with diabetes have a higher prevalence of affective disorders and anxiety disorders.
• The South zone has the highest rates of non-organic psychoses and substance use disorders, with increased prevalence in those with diabetes compared to those without diabetes.

How Do People Die From Diabetes

People rarely die from diabetes directly. Its more likely that someone with diabetes will die from complications with other organs. For example, high blood sugar can damage the kidneys over a long period of time, leading to potential kidney failure. And since diabetes is often associated with cardiovascular conditions, heart failure, and stroke are other common causes of death in diabetics. In rare cases of Type 1 diabetes, a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis can cause sudden death.

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Gestational Diabetes Facts And Statistics

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy in women who dont already have diabetes. High blood glucose levels during pregnancy can cause problems for the mother and the baby, and they can increase the chance of having a miscarriage. Learn more about gestational diabetes.

• About 6 percent of U.S. women who gave birth in 2016 had gestational diabetes.2
• About 50 percent of U.S. women with gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes.3

The Health Risks Of Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is a lifelong condition. High blood glucose levels over a long period of time can cause:

• blindness
• reduced blood supply to the limbs, leading to amputation
• nerve damage
• erectile dysfunction and
• stroke.

Although there is no cure for diabetes, the condition can be managed by medication and/or insulin, and by making healthy lifestyle choices.

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Sensation Problems And Amputation

Diabetes causes mild loss of sensation in the extremities in as many as 70 percent of adults who have it. Amputations of lower extremities may eventually be necessary, especially for people with blood vessel disease. More than 60 percent of all nontraumatic amputations of lower limbs occur in people with diabetes. Approximately 73,000 lower-limb amputations were performed in diabetics age 20 and older.

Diabetes And Kidney Disease

• In 2009, Albertans with diabetes had 12 times greater rates of end-stage renal disease compared to the general population.
• From 1997-2009, the proportion of prevalent end-stage renal disease patients with diabetes had increased from 39% to 56%.
• Over the last several years, the incidence and prevalence of endstage renal disease in people with diabetes has been declining.

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Prevalence Across Diabetes Types

Type 2 diabetes is, by far, the most prevalent form of diabetes.

In the UK, type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90% of all diabetes cases and type 1 diabetes accounts for approximately 10%.

The IDF reports that the proportion of people with type 2 diabetes is on the rise in most countries.

Whilst type 1 diabetes is less common, overall, than type 2 diabetes, the vast majority of children with diabetes will have type 1.

In 2015, more than 542,000 children in the world were living with type 1 diabetes.

History Of World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by IDF and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006 with the passage of United Nation Resolution 61/225.

WDD is the worlds largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over 1 billion people in more than 160 countries. The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public and political spotlight.

Read more about World Diabetes Day in Australia.

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International Diabetes Foundation Diabetes Voice Quarterly Magazine

Diabetes Voice is the quarterly magazine of the International Diabetes Federation . It covers the latest developments in diabetes care, education, prevention, research, health policy and economics, as well as themes related to living with diabetes. Diabetes Voice goes to the heart of issues that are crucial to all those who can further the promotion of diabetes care, prevention, and a cure worldwide.

Read and/or download current and past issues on the IDF website.

Goal: Reduce The Burden Of Diabetes And Improve Quality Of Life For All People Who Have Or Are At Risk For Diabetes

More than 30 million people in the United States have diabetes, and its the seventh leading cause of death.1 Healthy People 2030 focuses on reducing diabetes cases, complications, and deaths.

Some racial/ethnic minorities are more likely to have diabetes. And many people with diabetes dont know they have it.

Poorly controlled or untreated diabetes can lead to leg or foot amputations, vision loss, and kidney damage. But interventions to help people manage diabetes can help reduce the risk of complications. In addition, strategies to help people who dont have diabetes eat healthier, get physical activity, and lose weight can help prevent new cases.

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Type 1 Diabetes Facts

There is nothing anyone can do to prevent T1D. Presently, there is no known cure.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that occurs when a persons pancreas stops producing insulin, the hormone that controls blood-sugar levels. T1D develops when the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells are mistakenly destroyed by the bodys immune system. The cause of this attack is still being researched, however scientists believe the cause may have genetic and environmental components.

Countries With High Diabetes Prevalence

The International Diabetes Federation currently states that the top 5 countries with the highest amount of people with diabetes are as follows:

• China: 109 million

• 21.1%

All of the top 10 nations are small islands.

In terms of non-islands, the nation with the highest diabetes prevalence is Saudi Arabia with a 17.6% prevalence. The IDF notes that three quarters of the worlds adult population are living in low and middle-income countries.

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Risk Factors For Type 2 Diabetes

There is no single cause of type 2 diabetes but some factors can put you at greater risk. They include:

• being age 40 or over
• being overweight
• having a family member who has diabetes
• having had gestational diabetes
• having given birth to a baby that weighed more than 4 kg at birth
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol or other fats in the blood or
• member of a high-risk ethnic group.

Diabetes Rates By Country 2022

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which a person’s body is unable to either produce or utilize adequate insulin, the hormone that enables the cells of the body to absorb glucose, or sugar, from the bloodstream. This lack of insulin results in starving cells and an elevated level of sugar in the blood, a condition known as Hyperglycaemia, which can damage bodily systems if left untreated. Fortunately, proper management of diabetes and regular check-ups can prevent many of these complications.

If not properly treated, however, diabetes can be a serious, even life-threatening condition. Health complications caused by diabetes include glaucoma and cataracts, kidney disease, high blood pressure , diabetic ketoacidosis , skin complications, damage to nerves and blood vessels, and foot complications. Extreme diabetes can lead to a heart attack, stroke, or the need to amputate a limb. According to the World Health Organization, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths in 2019, 48% of which occurred in patients younger than 70 years of age. The International Diabetes Federation offers an even more sobering statistic, citing diabetes as the cause of 6.7 million deaths in 2021.

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Box : What’s In The Data

The data used in this publication are from the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System , a collaborative network of provincial and territorial chronic disease surveillance systems, led by the Public Health Agency of Canada . The CCDSS identifies chronic disease cases from provincial and territorial administrative health databases, including physician billing claims and hospital discharge abstract records, linked to provincial and territorial health insurance registry records using a unique personal identifier. Data on all residents eligible for provincial or territorial health insurance are captured in health insurance registries.

While CCDSS data reflect the health status of the Canadian population, they may also reflect changes in data collection methods, coding and classification systems, or clinical guidelines and billing practices. These factors must also be taken into consideration when interpreting time trends.

Definition of diagnosed diabetes in the CCDSSCanadians aged 1 year and older are identified as having diagnosed diabetes if they have: at least one hospitalization record or at least two physician claims in a two-year period with an International Classification of Diseases code for diabetes. Females aged 10 to 54 years diagnosed with diabetes 120 days preceding or 180 days following a pregnancy-related visit are removed, to exclude possible cases of gestational diabetes.

How Common Is Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the worlds fastest-growing chronic diseases. How prevalent is it? Lets take a look:

• In 1980, 108 million people worldwide had diabetes. By 2014, that number had risen to 422 million.
• An estimated 700 million adults worldwide will have diabetes by 2045.
• China has the highest number of diabetes accounts worldwide, with 116 million people with diabetes. Following China is India and then the United States .

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More People Than Ever Have Diabetes More People Than Ever Are At Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes If Nothing Changes We Predict That 55 Million People Will Have Diabetes In The Uk By 2030

Around 90% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Around 8% of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. About 2% of people with diabetes have rarer types of diabetes.

Were fighting for a world where diabetes can do no harm.

We do it by campaigning to make sure everyone with diabetes gets the care they need to live well with diabetes. We provide advice and support so people can get to grips with their condition. And our research increases what we know about diabetes, discovers new treatments and will, one day, find a cure.

When To Talk To Your Healthcare Provider

If you have certain risk factors, like excess belly fat or a sedentary lifestyle, you may want to work with your healthcare provider to assess your diabetes risk.

Type 2 diabetes is a manageable condition, but early detection and treatment under the care of a trusted medical professional are key. With the help of a diabetes care team, you can formulate a plan with reachable goals and figure out the best course of action moving forward.

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Diabetes Statistics By Type

There are four types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes: An autoimmune attack on pancreas cells stops them from creating insulin, so people with Type 1 need to take insulin shots every day. In most cases, Type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in children and teens, but it can manifest in adults as well.
• Type 2 diabetes: People with Type 2 can produce insulin, but their bodies resist it. When blood sugar is consistently high, the pancreas continuously pumps out insulin, and eventually, cells become overexposed. Type 2 is by far the most common type of diabetes and one that typically develops in adults however, the rate of Type 2 diabetes in children is increasing.
• Gestational diabetes: This type only occurs in pregnant women and typically goes away after childbirth however, half of women who have gestational diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes later in life. Treatment includes a doctor-recommended exercise and meal plan. Sometimes daily blood glucose tests and insulin injections are necessary.
• Prediabetes: Prediabetes isnt technically diabetes. Its more like a precursor. A prediabetic persons blood glucose is consistently above average, but not high enough to warrant a full diabetes diagnosis. People with prediabetes can help prevent Type 2 diabetes by implementing a healthy diet, increased physical activity, and stress management.

Heres how prevalent each type of diabetes is:

Additional Reports On Diabetes

• Diabetes in America, 3rd Edition provides comprehensive data on diabetes and its complications in the United States.
• National Diabetes Survey 2016 presents findings from the 2016 survey, which measures trends in diabetes awareness, knowledge, and behavior.
• Maps of Trends in Diabetes and Obesity show age-adjusted prevalence of obesity and diagnosed diabetes among adults, by county, in the United States in 2004, 2010, and 2016.
• Diabetes and African Americans provides prevalence data on diabetes and African Americans, including death rates, risk factors, and links to more information.
• Diabetes and American Indians/Alaska Natives provides prevalence data on diabetes in American Indians and Alaska Natives, including death rates, risk factors, and links to more information.
• Diabetes and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders provides prevalence data on diabetes in Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans, including death rates, risk factors, and links to more information.
• Diabetes and Hispanic Americans provides prevalence data on diabetes in Hispanics/Latinos, including death rates, risk factors, and links to more information.
• World Health Organization provides information on the global burden of diabetes, prevention, management, and capacity for prevention and control, as well as a fact sheet on diabetes.

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Diabetes Statistics In America

• More than 34 million Americans have diabetes, which is nearly 11% of the U.S. population.
• Every 17 seconds, an American is diagnosed with diabetes.
• There are 1.5 million new cases of diabetes in the United States each year.

Diabetes statistics by state

The states with the highest percentage of adults with diagnosed diabetes are:

• West Virginia

*The statistics are for adult cases, which were updated in September 2020

Symptoms Of Type 2 Diabetes

The classic symptoms of diabetes are the following:

• fatigue
• unusual thirst and
• unexplained weight loss.

In type 1 diabetes, the symptoms usually progress quickly and are often dramatic. In type 2 diabetes, symptoms are slower to progress. However, it is important to note that many people who have type 2 diabetes may have no symptoms. These people may find out they have type 2 diabetes when they go to the doctor for another, unrelated problem.

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Diabetes In The Regions

• More than three quarters of people with diabetes in Africa are estimated to be undiagnosed
• One adult in eight in the North America and Caribbean Region has diabetes
• Europe has the highest number of children living with type 1 diabetes
• In South East Asia, one quarter of all births are affected by high blood glucose in pregnancy
• 37 per cent of all adults with diabetes live in the Western Pacific
• In the Middle East and North Africa, four out of ten adults with diabetes are undiagnosed

*Sourced from the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas Key Findings 2015

What Is The Trend Of Diagnosed Diabetes Over Time

Between 20032004 and 20132014, there was a relative increase of 37.3%Footnote i in the age-standardized prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, from 5.6% to 7.8%. During the same period, the age-standardized incidence rate fluctuated. It increased until 20062007, from 6.7 to 7.6 per 1,000 population, but then it decreased to 6.3 per 1,000 population by 20132014, slightly below its original level . This implies that factors other than an increase in new diabetes diagnoses contributed to this rise in prevalence, including the fact that Canadians with diabetes now live longer. With the growth and aging of the Canadian population, the number of Canadians living with diabetes is also expected to increase in the coming years.

Figure 3: Age-standardized prevalence and incidence of diagnosed diabetes among Canadians aged 1 year and older, 20032004 to 20132014

Figure 3: Age-standardized prevalence and incidence of diagnosed diabetes among Canadians aged 1 year and older, 20032004 to 20132014

Fiscal year
7.8	6.3

Notes: Age-standardized estimates to the 2011 Canadian population. The 95% confidence intervals are not shown as they were too small to be illustrated.Data source: Public Health Agency of Canada, using Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System data files contributed by provinces and territories, May 2017.

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