Diabetes cases increase significantly in Pakistan, shows IDF figure
Nov 14, 2021
Islamabad [Pakistan], November 14 : The prevalence of diabetes in Pakistan has increased significantly as 33 million adults in the country are now living with diabetes, with 70 per cent increase since 2019, a local media report said citing the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) figures.
According to IDF, in 2021, diabetes will be responsible for 4,00,000 deaths in the country- the highest number in the Middle-East and North Africa Region. These findings from the 10th Edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas, which will be published on December 6, report that one in four adults (26.7 per cent) in Pakistan are living with diabetes - the highest national prevalence in the world, Pakistan Today reported.
According to the newspaper, the country now has the third-highest number of people living with diabetes in the world. An additional 11 million adults in Pakistan have Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT), which places them at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
More than a quarter (26.9 per cent) of adults living with diabetes in Pakistan are undiagnosed, according to the media report.
IDF said that 537 million adults are now living with diabetes worldwide -- a rise of 16 per cent (74 million) since the previous IDF estimates in 2019. "The rapidly rising level of diabetes in Pakistan presents a significant challenge to the health and wellbeing of individuals and families in the country," said Professor Abdul Basit, Director, Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology, Baqai Medical University.
Pakistan Today also reported that globally, 90 per cent of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. The rise in the number of people with type 2 is driven by a complex interplay of socio-economic, demographic, environmental and genetic factors. Key contributors include urbanisation, an ageing population, decreasing levels of physical activity and increasing levels of overweight and obesity.
The key global and regional findings from the IDF Diabetes Atlas 10th Edition include that one in ten (10.5 per cent) adults around the world are currently living with diabetes. The total number is predicted to rise to 643 million (11.3 per cent) by 2030 and to 783 million (12.2 per cent) by 2045.
One in six adults (73 million) are living with diabetes in the Middle-East and North Africa Region. An estimated 240 million people are living with undiagnosed diabetes worldwide - 27 million in the Middle-East and North Africa Region.
