The global type 1 diabetes (T1D) burden continues to increase rapidly driven by rising cases, ageing populations, improved diagnosis and falling death rates, according to the results of a new modeling study being presented at this year's Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Vienna (15-19 Sept).
The study estimates that T1D will affect 9.5 million people globally in 2025 (up by 13% since 2021), and this number is predicted to rise to 14.7 million in 2040. However, due to lack of diagnosis and challenges in collecting sufficient data, the actual number of individuals living with T1D is likely much higher, researchers say.
In fact, they estimate that there are an additional 4.1 million 'missing people' who would have been alive in 2025 if they hadn't died prematurely from poor T1D care, including an estimated 669,000 who were not diagnosed. This is particularly true in India, where an estimated 159,000 people thought to have died from missed diagnoses.
Co-author Dr Stephanie Pearson from Breakthrough T1D added, "Around the world, marginalised communities face significant barriers to T1D care.Theyare less likely to access or afford insulin and other essential medicines and technologies, struggle with poor glucose management, and experience reduced quality of life and shorter life expectancy. These new regional and country specific estimates represent a crucial step forward, equipping governments, health planners, and researchers with the insights needed to identify the populations most affected and to ensure that high-quality, affordable care is available to everyone, everywhere, when they need it."
