India is already infamous as the ‘diabetes capital of the world’. A recent report published in The Lancet has made another concerning revelation – not only did India account for the highest number of diabetics in 2022 but it also had the most cases of untreated diabetes worldwide. The study, conducted by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), was released on World Diabetes Day (November 14).
The findings are part of the first analysis of trends in both diabetes rates and treatment worldwide. Let’s take a closer look. As per The Lancet study, India had 212 million (21.
2 crore) adults living with diabetes in 2022, accounting for 23.7 per cent of the population. Nearly 62 per cent of diabetics in India, or 133 million (13.
3 crore), were not on any treatment, or taking medications. The report also found that there were 828 million (82.8 crore) diabetic adults around the world in 2022, over four times the total number in 1990.
After India, China , which is the second most populous nation, had the most diabetics in 2022 — 148 million (14.8 crore). The US had 42 million (4.
2 crore) adults living with diabetes, Pakistan 36 million (3.6 crore), Indonesia 25 million (2.5 crore) and Brazil 22 million (2.
2 crore). The report flagged that 445 million (44.5 crore) people aged 30 or above worldwide did not receive treatment for diabetes in 2022, three and a half times the number in 1990.
“Our study highlights widen.