Diabetes “massive challenge” as cases hit 366 mln

LONDON, (Reuters) – The number of people living with  diabetes has soared to 366 million, and the disease kills one  person every seven seconds, posing a “massive challenge” to  healthcare systems worldwide, experts said today.
The vast majority of those with the disease have Type 2 —  the kind linked to poor diet, obesity and lack of exercise —  and the problem is spreading as people in the developing world  adopt more Western lifestyles.
Diabetics have inadequate blood sugar control, which can  lead to serious complications like heart disease and stroke,  damage to the kidneys or nerves, and to blindness. Worldwide  deaths from the disease are now running at 4.6 million a year.
The latest figures, unveiled at the European Association for  the Study of Diabetes (EASD) congress in Lisbon, underline the  need for urgent action by governments at a U.N. meeting next  week, according to top doctors in the field.
The high-level United Nations meeting in New York on Sept.  19-20 — only the second to focus on disease after one on AIDS  in 2001 — will consider what should be done to counter the  growing problem of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including  diabetes.
Food, drinks and tobacco companies are in the firing line  for selling products linked to cancer, heart disease and  diabetes, but health campaigners fear politicians may not set  firm targets or provide funds for a decent fight.
The NCD Alliance, which groups 2,000 health organisations  from around the world, argues that spending $9 billion a year on  tobacco control, food advice and basic treatments would avert  tens of millions of untimely deaths this decade.
Cash-strapped governments, however, have baulked at finding  new money, though the cost of inaction may be even greater, with  annual healthcare spending on diabetes alone now put at $465  billion.
The new figures on the prevalence and cost of diabetes are  to be published in the fifth edition of the Diabetes Atlas, the  authoritative guide to the disease issued by the International  Diabetes Federation (IDF).