1980 to 2008: Diabetes more than doubles worldwide

William Atkins
Tuesday, 28 June 2011 22:08

Science - Health

According to 2011 research published in the journal The Lancet, 347 million people in the world have diabetes (as of 2008), which is over double the number from 1980. It is especially high in the U.S. and Australia, two countries with the highest rates of obesity, too.

The study is entitled 'National, regional, and global trends in fasting plasma glucose and diabetes prevalence since 1980' (The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 25 June 2011; doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60679-X ).

The study predicts that, for example, half of the adults in the United States will have diabetes by the year 2020.

The study, which covered 199 countries and territories around the world, surveyed 2.7 million people. The study was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The researchers found that:

• The prevalence of adult diabetes in men was 9.8% and in women it was 9.2%, in the year 2008.
• The number of people with diabetes increased from 153 million in 1980, to 347 million in 2008 -- an increase of 194 million in 28 years.

Page two continues with more statistics from the study.