According to a recent report by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RISC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), India will record the highest number of diabetes patients globally in 2022, accounting for more than a quarter of the world’s 828 million cases. Is responsible for more.

The report published in The Lancet shows that about 62% of diabetic patients in India were not receiving any treatment for their condition.

NCD-RISC is a collaboration of more than 1,500 health experts around the world who track non-communicable diseases. Their latest findings show that about 212 million people in India, about 23.7% of the population, were living with diabetes in 2022.

Yet, about 133 million of these individuals were neither taking medication nor receiving any treatment, putting India at the top of the global charts for untreated diabetes cases.

In comparison, China, a comparable population, had about 148 million diabetics, of whom 78 million were untreated. This apparent contradiction highlights the unique challenges India faces in tackling diabetes.

The data, drawn from 1,108 population-based studies covering 141 million adults, marks the first global analysis of both diabetes prevalence and treatment trends across countries.

Researchers found that, in India, the prevalence of diabetes has increased over the past three decades.

In 1990, 11.9% of women and 11.3% of men had diabetes. By 2022, this number will increase to 23.7% for women and 21.4% for men.

Treatment coverage has increased only marginally, with women’s coverage from 21.6% to 27.8% and men’s from 25.3% to 29.3%.

The report defined diabetes as a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level of 7 mmol/L or more or an HbA1c of 6.5% or more. However, it does not differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, although most adult cases are considered type 2.

The global increase in diabetes has quadrupled since 1990, now affecting more than 800 million adults. Additionally, it is estimated that there will be 445 million untreated people aged 30 years and older with diabetes in 2022, 3.5 times more than in 1990.

The study’s lead author, Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London, said in a statement that the issue is particularly acute in low- and middle-income countries, where young people with untreated diabetes face increased long-term risk of complications.

These include heart disease, kidney damage and even premature death.

These findings underscore the urgent need for expanded access to diabetes care and treatment, especially as the condition continues to rise worldwide, the researchers wrote.