Diabetes figures all set to blow out by 2050

Researchers who carried out a study of diabetes are predicting that by the year 2050 there will be 39 million with the disease in the United States.

They have based their estimate on the figures for prevalence and incident in the period between 2000 and 2004 which show a steady rise in the national incidence of diagnosed diabetes.

This projection represents 9.3 million more people with diagnosed diabetes than previously thought.

The fastest growing ethnic group with diagnosed diabetes is expected to be Hispanic and the fastest growing age group the 75 year olds.

According to the International Diabetes Federation over the last 20 years the total number of people with diabetes worldwide has risen from 30 million to 230 million, with China and India the top of the league table when it comes to who has the most diabetes sufferers in the world.

Seven of the top ten countries with diabetes are developing countries and in the Caribbean and the Middle East the percentage of adults with diabetes in some areas has reached 20%.

In other developing countries diabetes can mean death within one or two years.

There is little doubt that spread of type 2 diabetes can be attributed to lifestyle, diet and genetics and the combination of bad diet and inactivity leads to weight gain, which in turn raises the risk of developing diabetes type 2.

Researchers say there are 6 million new diabetes sufferers in the world each year and it is now the fourth largest cause of death worldwide.

Many sufferers are unaware they have the disease which causes blindness, cardiovascular disease and often means the amputation of affected limbs.

The researchers say that the primary prevention of diabetes is an urgent priority or the future burden of diabetes will be even more alarming than previously thought.

The research was presented the American Diabetes Association's 66th Scientific Session.