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Published on: February 28, 2013
The Growing Epidemic of Diabetes Mellitus
Dragan Lovic1, Alexia Piperidou2, Ioanna Zografou2
1Clinic for Internal Disease Intermedica, Nis, Serbia.
Background:
During the past decades, the prevalence of diabetes (DM) has increased significantly, mainly as a result of continuous rise in the incidence of type 2 DM. According to World Health Organization statistics, >422 million adults globally were suffering from DM in 2014 and a continuous rise in DM prevalence is expected.
Objective:
The present review considers recent epidemiological data providing worldwide estimates regarding the incidence of DM.
Methods:
A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify available data from epidemiological studies evaluating the current burden of DM.
Results:
Over the past few decades the prevalence of DM has risen significantly in nearly all countries and may be considered as a growing epidemic. Urbanization and income status are major factors which influence current rates in the prevalence studies introducing interesting differences between several population groups.
Conclusion:
Having recognized the global burden of DM, we now realize the urgent need for effective interventions. In order to monitor the public-health strategies and design effective future interventions we need reliable global estimates regarding the prevalence of DM.
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