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WHO|Diabetes

Mediacentre
Diabetes
Factsheet
UpdatedMarch2016

Keyfacts
Thenumberofpeoplewithdiabeteshasrisenfrom108millionin
1980to422millionin2014 1 .
Theglobalprevalenceofdiabetes*amongadultsover18yearsof
agehasrisenfrom4.7%in1980to8.5%in2014 1 .
Diabetesprevalencehasbeenrisingmorerapidlyinmiddleandlow
incomecountries 1 .
Diabetesisamajorcauseofblindness,kidneyfailure,heartattacks,
strokeandlowerlimbamputation 1 .
In2012,anestimated1.5milliondeathsweredirectlycausedby
diabetesandanother2.2milliondeathswereattributabletohigh
bloodglucose** 1 .
Almosthalfofalldeathsattributabletohighbloodglucoseoccur
beforetheageof70years 1 .WHOprojectsthatdiabeteswillbethe
7thleadingcauseofdeathin2030 2 .
Healthydiet,regularphysicalactivity,maintaininganormalbody
weightandavoidingtobaccousearewaystopreventordelaythe
onsetoftype2diabetes 1 .
Diabetescanbetreatedanditsconsequencesavoidedordelayed
withdiet,physicalactivity,medicationandregularscreeningand
treatmentforcomplications 1 .

Whatisdiabetes?
Diabetesisachronicdiseasethatoccurseitherwhenthepancreas
doesnotproduceenoughinsulinorwhenthebodycannoteffectively
usetheinsulinitproduces.Insulinisahormonethatregulatesblood
sugar 3 .Hyperglycaemia,orraisedbloodsugar,isacommoneffectof
uncontrolleddiabetesandovertimeleadstoseriousdamagetomanyof
thebody'ssystems,especiallythenervesandbloodvessels 3 .
In2014,8.5%ofadultsaged18yearsandolderhaddiabetes.In2012
diabeteswasthedirectcauseof1.5milliondeathsandhighblood
glucosewasthecauseofanother2.2milliondeaths 1 .
Type1diabetes
Type1diabetes(previouslyknownasinsulindependent,juvenileor
childhoodonset)ischaracterizedbydeficientinsulinproductionand
requiresdailyadministrationofinsulin 3 .Thecauseoftype1diabetesis
notknownanditisnotpreventablewithcurrentknowledge.

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Symptomsincludeexcessiveexcretionofurine(polyuria),thirst
(polydipsia),constanthunger,weightloss,visionchangesandfatigue.
Thesesymptomsmayoccursuddenly.
Type2diabetes
Type2diabetes(formerlycallednoninsulindependentoradultonset)
resultsfromthebodysineffectiveuseofinsulin 3 .Type2diabetes
comprisesthemajorityofpeoplewithdiabetesaroundtheworld 3 ,and
islargelytheresultofexcessbodyweightandphysicalinactivity.
SymptomsmaybesimilartothoseofType1diabetes,butareoften
lessmarked.Asaresult,thediseasemaybediagnosedseveralyears
afteronset,oncecomplicationshavealreadyarisen.
Untilrecently,thistypeofdiabeteswasseenonlyinadultsbutitisnow
alsooccurringincreasinglyfrequentlyinchildren.
Gestationaldiabetes
Gestationaldiabetesishyperglycaemiawithbloodglucosevaluesabove
normalbutbelowthosediagnosticofdiabetes,occurringduring
pregnancy 4 .Womenwithgestationaldiabetesareatanincreasedrisk
ofcomplicationsduringpregnancyandatdelivery.Theyandtheir
childrenarealsoatincreasedriskoftype2diabetesinthefuture.
Gestationaldiabetesisdiagnosedthroughprenatalscreening,rather
thanthroughreportedsymptoms.
Impairedglucosetoleranceandimpairedfastingglycaemia
Impairedglucosetolerance(IGT)andimpairedfastingglycaemia(IFG)
areintermediateconditionsinthetransitionbetweennormalityand
diabetes 3 .PeoplewithIGTorIFGareathighriskofprogressingto
type2diabetes,althoughthisisnotinevitable.

Whatarecommonconsequencesofdiabetes?
Overtime,diabetescandamagetheheart,bloodvessels,eyes,
kidneys,andnerves:
Adultswithdiabeteshavea23foldincreasedriskofheartattacks
andstrokes 5 .
Combinedwithreducedbloodflow,neuropathy(nervedamage)inthe
feetincreasesthechanceoffootulcers,infectionandeventualneed
forlimbamputation.
Diabeticretinopathyisanimportantcauseofblindness,andoccurs
asaresultoflongtermaccumulateddamagetothesmallblood
vesselsintheretina.2.6%ofglobalblindnesscanbeattributedto
diabetes 6 .
Diabetesisamongtheleadingcausesofkidneyfailure 7 .

Howcantheburdenofdiabetesbereduced?
Prevention
Simplelifestylemeasureshavebeenshowntobeeffectiveinpreventing
ordelayingtheonsetoftype2diabetes.Tohelppreventtype2diabetes
anditscomplications,peopleshould:
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achieveandmaintainhealthybodyweight
bephysicallyactiveatleast30minutesofregular,moderate
intensityactivityonmostdays.Moreactivityisrequiredforweight
control
eatahealthydiet,avoidingsugarandsaturatedfatsintakeand
avoidtobaccousesmokingincreasestheriskofdiabetesand
cardiovasculardiseases.
Diagnosisandtreatment
Earlydiagnosiscanbeaccomplishedthroughrelativelyinexpensive
testingofbloodsugar.
Treatmentofdiabetesinvolvesdietandphysicalactivityalongwith
loweringbloodglucoseandthelevelsofotherknownriskfactorsthat
damagebloodvessels.Tobaccousecessationisalsoimportantto
avoidcomplications.
Interventionsthatarebothcostsavingandfeasibleindeveloping
countriesinclude 8 :
bloodglucosecontrol,particularlyintype1diabetes.Peoplewith
type1diabetesrequireinsulin,peoplewithtype2diabetescanbe
treatedwithoralmedication,butmayalsorequireinsulin
bloodpressurecontroland
footcare.
Othercostsavinginterventionsinclude:
screeningandtreatmentforretinopathy(whichcausesblindness)
bloodlipidcontrol(toregulatecholesterollevels)
screeningforearlysignsofdiabetesrelatedkidneydiseaseand
treatment.

WHOresponse
WHOaimstostimulateandsupporttheadoptionofeffectivemeasures
forthesurveillance,preventionandcontrolofdiabetesandits
complications,particularlyinlowandmiddleincomecountries.Tothis
end,WHO:
providesscientificguidelinesforthepreventionofmajorNCDs
includingdiabetes
developsnormsandstandardsfordiabetesdiagnosisandcare
buildsawarenessontheglobalepidemicofdiabetes,markingWorld
DiabetesDay(14November)
conductssurveillanceofdiabetesanditsriskfactors.
TheWHOGlobalreportondiabetesprovidesanoverviewofthe
diabetesburden,theinterventionsavailabletopreventandmanage
diabetes,andrecommendationsforgovernments,individuals,thecivil
societyandtheprivatesector.
TheWHOGlobalstrategyondiet,physicalactivityandhealth
complementsWHO'sdiabetesworkbyfocusingonpopulationwide
approachestopromotehealthydietandregularphysicalactivity,thereby
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reducingthegrowingglobalproblemofoverweightpeopleandobesity.

* Definedasfastingbloodglucoseequaltoorhigherthanmmol/L,oron

medicationforraisedbloodglucose,orwithahistoryofdiagnosisof
diabetes.
** Highbloodglucoseisdefinedasadistributionoffastingplasma

glucoseinapopulationthatishigherthanthetheoreticaldistributionthat
wouldminimizeriskstohealth(derivedfromepidemiologicalstudies).
Highbloodglucoseisastatisticalconcept,notaclinicalordiagnostic
category.

References
1 Globalreportondiabetes.
WorldHealthOrganization,Geneva,2016.
2 Projectionsofglobalmortalityandburdenofdiseasefrom2002to

2030.
MathersCD,LoncarD.PLoSMed,2006,3(11):e442.
3 Definition,diagnosisandclassificationofdiabetesmellitusandits

complications.Part1:Diagnosisandclassificationofdiabetesmellitus.
WorldHealthOrganization,Geneva,1999.ReportNumber:
WHO/NCD/NCS/99.2.
4 Diagnosticcriteriaandclassificationofhyperglycaemiafirstdetected

inpregnancy.
WorldHealthOrganization,2013.ReportNumber:WHO/NMH/MND/13.2.
5 Diabetesmellitus,fastingbloodglucoseconcentration,andriskof

vasculardisease:acollaborativemetaanalysisof102prospective
studies.
EmergingRiskFactorsCollaboration.SarwarN,GaoP,SeshasaiSR,
GobinR,KaptogeS,DiAngelantonioetal.Lancet.201026375:2215
2222.
6 Causesofvisionlossworldwide,19902010:asystematicanalysis.
BourneRR,StevensGA,WhiteRA,SmithJL,FlaxmanSR,PriceHet
al.LancetGlobalHealth20131:e339e349
7 2014USRDSannualdatareport:Epidemiologyofkidneydiseasein

theUnitedStates.
UnitedStatesRenalDataSystem.NationalInstitutesofHealth,National
InstituteofDiabetesandDigestiveandKidneyDiseases,Bethesda,
MD,2014:188210.
8 GlobalActionPlanforthePreventionandControlof

Noncommunicablediseases20132020
WorldHealthOrganization,Geneva,2013.
Formoreinformation,pleasecontact:
WHOMediacentre
Telephone:+41227912222
Email:mediainquiries@who.int

Report
Globalreportondiabetes
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Facts
10factsaboutdiabetes
Factsheetondiabetes

Quiz
Howmuchdoyouknowabout
diabetes?

Q&A
Whataretherisksofdiabetesin
children?

Infographic

Diabetesinfographic
pdf,140kb

Relatedlinks
WorldHealthDay2016:Beat
diabetes
WHO'sworkondiabetes
Moreaboutdiabetes

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