Diabetes Strikes More Than Four Times The Patients In Less Than 35 Years

Diabetes has shot up, with the number of diabetics multiplying by four times, from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.

Examining data from 751 studies, and 4.4 million adults from different areas of the world, experts estimated that age-adjusted diabetes would be prevalent in 200 nations. Hence, diabetes becomes more common with age.

"Diabetes has become a defining issue for global public health," said Majid Ezzati, senior author of the new study. "An aging population and rising levels of obesity mean that the number of people with diabetes has increased dramatically over the past 35 years. Rates of diabetes are rising quickly in China, India and many other low and middle-income countries, and if current trends continue, the probability of meeting the 2025 U.N. global target is virtually nonexistent."

Between 1980 and 2014, diabetes struck more men than women. It spread quickly among many countries in Western Europe. The increase in diabetes increased with age, in contrast to many low-income countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Mexico, where age was not important.

"The prevalence estimates provided by the NCD-Risk Factor Collaboration sound the alarm for large-scale, effective action to reduce the health and economic impact of diabetes," wrote Etienne Krug, one of the researchers, while commenting on the study. "Improvements in prevention and management, together with better surveillance, should be prioritized in response to this call."

The findings have disclosed the global trend of diabetes, and the development of prevention and management strategies to fight the illness.

The findings were published in the April 2016 edition of the journal The Lancet.