Health
WHO warns of diabetes' growing global impact
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 24, 2004
As many as 3.2 million deaths are linked to diabetes annually, and six deaths a minute are due to the disease worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
The statistics were included in "Diabetes Action Now," a WHO report issued this month to mark the launch of a program to combat the emergence of the disease in conjunction with the International Diabetes Foundation.
The estimates of the diabetes figures were based on the relative differences in the risk of death between people with diabetes and those without, and the numbers include deaths where the disease would have played some role.
"Diabetes is a major threat to global public health that is rapidly getting worse," said Dr. Catherine Le Gales-Camus, WHO assistant director general for noncommunicable diseases and mental health.
There were about 171 million diabetics in 2000, but the agency expects this number to grow to 366 million by 2030 driven primarily by a 150% increase in the rate of the disease in the developing world.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/05/24/hlbf0524.htm.
