November 13, 2024

expert reaction to a study in The Lancet looking at the global prevalence of diabetes

This study looked at the prevalence of diabetes worldwide, showing that 800 million people are living with diabetes. More than half of those aren’t receiving treatment.

The study also looked at the changes in diabetes prevalence over the last three decades, showing that global diabetes rates have doubled over the last thirty years.

Rates of diabetes were highest in lower and middle income countries. However, Ireland and the UK both show higher rates than a lot of mainland Europe.

It is worth noting that this study cannot separate Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Also, there is much more data for certain regions over others.

Dr Eamon Laird, Assistant Lecturer of Nutrition, Atlantic Technological University Sligo, Visiting Assistant Professor, Trinity College Dublin, said:

“What’s the significance of the Irish data in this study?

This is very significant for Ireland. If you were to look at the big picture from the report Western Europe (including Ireland) had a lower rate of diabetes increase compared to the rest of the world. But…. If you were to zoom in you can see things aren’t all that great. Ireland and the UK has some of the highest rates of diabetes in Europe. Diabetes is a serious chronic health condition that can result in increased risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, cognitive decline, osteoporosis and loss of fingers and toes/feet.

The prevalence of diabetes appears to be higher in the UK and Ireland than most of Europe, why would that be?

Ireland and the UK have one of the highest rates of diabetes both in older and younger adults. We also have one of the highest obesity rates, very low physical activity (most of us currently do not meet the minimal guidelines for exercise) and also, we consume a lot of ultra high processed and sugary foods. This triangle of undesirable factors all come together to increase the diabetes risk in our population.

What are the strengths of the study?

This is one of the largest studies ever done in this area – its key strength is that it used 1100 studies across 175 countries all over the world. They also used recognised and standardised methods to try and harmonize all the information that was collected to try and give the most accurate estimates of diabetes prevalence in the world.

What are its limitations?

Some of the limitations include how different countries defined diabetes and what blood test they used which could lead to either an under or over estimation of the prevalence; some countries had a lot of results and other countries had very little data which could have affected the results by region of the world, since 2020 COVID occurred and this could have also impacted the accuracy of some of the data collected as the number of surveys would have been reduced in certain population groups. 

What do you think of the findings?

I think it serves as a warning signal for policy markers – we have one of the highest rates in Europe and now is the time to implement real measures to make a difference before it is too late. We need simple measures to increase physical activity and to educate and enable individuals (particularly those who can’t afford healthier food choices) to make healthier diet decisions. These very simple measures could have huge effects in dropping our rates. However we need investment and proper action plans on the ground right now if we are to be successful. Diabetes is a serious chronic condition with significant effects for the individual and can also draw in huge health resources in management of the condition – if we can increase our focus on prevention this will have a real impact for the future.”

‘Worldwide trends in diabetes prevalence and treatment from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 1108 population representative studies with 141 million participants’ by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) was published in The Lancet at 23:30 Irish time Wednesday 13th November 2024. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02317-1

Declarations of interest:

Dr Eamon Laird – I declare no conflicts of interest. I sit as a voluntary member of the health sub-committee for Food Safety Authority Ireland (FSAI). I am also assistant lecturer of Health and Nutrition at  Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Sligo and visiting Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.