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More than 800 million adults have diabetes worldwide "almost twice as many as previous estimates have suggested" and more than half of those aged over 30 who have the condition are not receiving treatment, according to a new study.
The study published in The Lancet found the global prevalence of diabetes has doubled since 1990 to 14% from around 7%, and the authors suggest the increase has been driven largely by rising cases in low- and middle-income countries.
Although there are far more cases, treatment rates in those regions have barely increased, the authors said, while things have improved in some higher-income countries leading to a widening treatment gap.
In 2022, there were around 828 million people aged 18 years and older with type 1 and type 2 diabetes worldwide, the study found. Among adults aged 30 years and older, 445 million, or 59% of them, were not receiving treatment, the authors said.
The World Health Organization has previously estimated that about 422 million people have diabetes, a chronic metabolic disease involving blood sugar levels, which can damage the heart, blood vessels, nerves and other organs if untreated.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that the rise documented in the study was alarming.