November is National Diabetes Month here in the US, and as the conversations spread, it's increasingly clear that diabetes is a contrasting story of societal concern and individual hope, both in the United States and worldwide.
The numbers are huge. Impacting 1 of 11 adults worldwide, diabetes is having an enormous impact across the globe, both in terms of the broader healthcare costs and food production systems, but more importantly on the impact on society and the daily lives of the 415 million people living with diabetes.
The Diabetes Tidal Wave
The latest stats are nothing but dramatic, published this week in the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas, 7th edition.- 1 in 11 adults have diabetes today worldwide
- 415 million adults have diabetes today worldwide, rising to 642 million by 2040
- 30 million adults have diabetes in the US
- 60 million adults have diabetes in Europe
- 152 million adults have diabetes in the Western Pacific/Asia
- 45% of adults with diabetes are undiagnosed
- 12% of global healthcare costs ($673B) are linked to diabetes
- 542 thousand children worldwide have Type 1 diabetes (84K in US)
- 1 in 7 births is affected by gestational diabetes
- Every 6 seconds, someone dies from diabetes (5 million annually)