Millions suffer from diabetes without knowing it

In 2023, an estimated 44 % of people between the ages of 15 and over people with diabetes are not aware of their condition. Diagnostic deficiency was greater among young people-despite a higher risk facing long-term complications.

Among those diagnosed, it was 91 % in the form of drug therapy. However, among those receiving treatment, only 42 % of the blood sugar levels were optimally managed. This translates into only 21 % of all people with diabetes worldwide have their condition under optimal management.

Despite two decades, the research also found a major regional diagnosis and treatment variations, especially in low -income countries. North high -income North America had the highest diagnostic rates, while Asia with a high -income in the Pacific Ocean showed the highest rates of treatment between diagnosed individuals. South Latin America had the highest levels of optimal blood sugar management among those treated. On the other hand, Africa, in the central Sahara, faced the largest gaps in the diagnosis, with less than 20 % of people with diabetes.

“By 2050, 1.3 billion people are expected to live with diabetes, and if half of them are nearly half of them, they know that they have a serious and possibly deadly health condition, it may become a silent epidemic,” said Lauren Stafford, the first author and researcher at IHME.

Looking at the pace in which cases rise quickly, the research emphasizes the urgent need to invest in the inspection programs for the younger population and access to medicines and glucose monitoring tools, especially in the disadvantaged areas. In 2022, the World Health Organization set a target for 80 % of people with diabetes who were clinically diagnosed by 2030.

The study was funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.