United Kingdom: A new study indicates that the number of adults living with diabetes worldwide is projected to more than double by 2050. The rise is attributed to the rapid escalation of obesity rates and the widening gap in health inequalities.
According to new estimates published in The Lancet and The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journals, the current figure of 529 million adults with diabetes in 2021 is expected to surpass 1.3 billion by 2050. Alarmingly, no country is anticipated to witness a decline in its diabetes rate over the next three decades.
Experts have expressed grave concern over the data, highlighting that diabetes is surpassing most diseases on a global scale and posing a significant threat to both individuals and healthcare systems.
The research authors noted that “Type 2 diabetes, which makes up the bulk of diabetes cases, is largely preventable and, in some cases, potentially reversible if identified and managed early in the disease course. However, all evidence indicates that diabetes prevalence is increasing worldwide, primarily due to a rise in obesity caused by multiple factors.”
The researchers further observed that structural racism experienced by minority ethnic groups and “geographic inequity” were accelerating rates of diabetes, disease, illness, and death around the world.
People from marginalised communities are less likely to have access to essential medicines such as insulin and have worse blood sugar control, a lower quality of life, and a reduced life expectancy.
“The pandemic has amplified diabetes inequity globally. People with diabetes were twice as likely to develop a severe infection with COVID-19 and to die compared with those without diabetes, especially among minority ethnic groups,” the authors added.
Furthermore, the research outlines how the large-scale and deep-rooted effects of racism and inequity lead to unequal impacts on global diabetes prevalence, care, and outcomes.
“Racist policies such as residential segregation affect where people live and their access to sufficient and healthy food and healthcare services. This cascade of widening diabetes inequity leads to substantial gaps in care and clinical outcomes for people from historically disenfranchised racial and ethnic groups, including Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous people,” Mr. Leonard Egede of the Medical College of Wisconsin, the study’s co-author, commented.
Dr. Alisha Wade, a co-author and an associate professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, remarked that “it is vital that the impact of social and economic factors on diabetes is acknowledged, understood, and incorporated into efforts to curb the global diabetes crisis.”
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