Number of people with diabetes has doubled in 30 years, global study says

The number of people with diabetes has doubled over the past 30 years to more than 800 million worldwide, according to an international study.

- Anna Bawden

Analysis published in the Lancet found that rates of diabetes in adults have doubled from about 7% to about 14% between 1990 and 2022, with the largest increase in low- and middle-income countries.

The study is the first global analysis of diabetes rates and treatment in all countries. Scientists at NCD-RisC, an international network, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, used data from more than 140 million people aged 18 years or older from more than 1,000 studies in different countries. They applied statistical tools to enable accurate comparisons of prevalence and treatment between countries and regions.

The study highlighted growing health inequalities. More than half of global diabetes cases were concentrated in just four countries. Of the people with diabetes in 2022, more than a quarter (212 million) lived in India, with another 148 million in China, followed by the USA (42 million) and Pakistan (36 million). Indonesia and Brazil accounted for a further 25 and 22 million respectively.