Young adults largely unaware of being diabetic: The Lancet

A majority of young adults with diabetes are unaware that they have the disease posing a significant health risk according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes ampamp EndocrinologyResearchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation IHME at the University of Washington School of Medicine analysed the diabetes care cascade for all ages both sexes and 204 countries and territories from 2000 to 2023Their results showed that in 2023 an estimated 44 per cent of people aged 15 and older with diabetes are unaware of their conditionHowever this also showed an improvement from 2000 when 53 per cent of people were diagnosed suggesting that the detection of diabetes has improved over timeUnderdiagnosis was greatest among young adults Those aged between 15 and 39 years were the least likely to be diagnosed with diabetes globally with only 26 per cent receiving a diagnosis in 2023 Yet this group faces a higher risk of lifetime complications compared to those diagnosed later in life partly because they live with diabetes for longer the researchers saidBy 2050 13 billion people are expected to be living with diabetes and if nearly half dont know they have a serious and potentially deadly health condition it could easily become a silent epidemic said Lauryn Stafford first author and researcher at IHMEFurther the study showed that among those who were diagnosed 91 per cent were on some form of pharmacological treatmentYet only 42 per cent of those receiving treatment had their blood sugar levels managed optimally This translates to just 21 per cent of all people with diabetes globally having their condition under optimal managementDespite improvements over two decades the research also found substantial regional diagnosis and treatment disparities particularly in low and middleincome countriesHighincome North America had the highest rates of diagnosis while highincome Asia Pacific showed the highest rates of treatment among diagnosed individualsSouthern Latin America had the highest rates of optimal blood sugar management among those treated In contrast Central subSaharan Africa faced the largest gaps in diagnosis with less than 20 per cent of people with diabetes being aware of their conditionGiven the pace at which cases are rapidly rising the research underscores the urgent need for investment in screening programmes for younger populations and access to medications and glucosemonitoring tools especially in underserved regionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever