Study Shows The Prevalence of Diabetes is Vastly Underestimated

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According to a study from Monash University, there may be more than 100 million people with diabetes than was previously thought.

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in 2015 stated an estimate of the number of people with diabetes to be 415 million. The actual number, however, could be as high as 520 million; diabetes’ prevalence is underestimated by at least 25 percent.

Researchers claimed that the organizations on which public health policy makers rely on, including the IDF, Global Burden of Disease and Noncommunicable Disease Risk Factor Collaborations, and the World Health Organization, use varying and potentially inappropriate methods to determine mortality rates associated with diabetes as well as its prevalence.

(including the World Health Organisation, the IDF and the Global Burden of Disease and Noncommunicable Disease Risk Factor Collaborations) have used different and sometimes inappropriate methods and tests to determine diabetes mortality and prevalence. The gaps in knowledge are particularly present and pressing in developing countries.

According to co-author Professor Sir George Alberti, a former President of the IDF and the Royal College of Physicians (London), data that is accurate is extremely important.

As Alberti noted, “Accurate data on the burden of diabetes is required so that countries can identify current and future healthcare priorities to estimate direct and indirect economic and societal costs of the disease and to allocate appropriate healthcare resources and expenditures for healthcare delivery.”

There are many different causes of the underestimation including the lack of national data and the use of inappropriate methods for testing for diabetes. Although the WHO recommends both, much of the time, only the fasting glucose is used, resulting in inaccurate data. The paper proposed an alternative blood glucose test for both fasting and at two hours after a glucose drink test; the second test could be conducted to confirm whether a patient has or will develop diabetes.

For more information, visit: https://www.monash.edu