Diabetes Mellitus

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF, https://www.idf.org) is a global alliance of over 200 national diabetes associations from more than 160 countries, who have federated to improve care and quality of life for people with diabetes.

IDF mission is to increase global awareness of diabetes, promote appropriate care and prevention, and encourage research activities for a possible cure for the different types of diabetes.

The Diabetes Atlas is a periodic publication by IDF that allows for the assessment of the prevalence, mortality, and cost of diabetes worldwide through a rigorous scientific methodology. The latest available update is from 2021 and reports that:

• Around 537 million people (one in ten adults) worldwide are living with diabetes.
• Deaths related to diabetes and its complications in 2021 globally were estimated to range on 6.7 millions, with a global health expenditure for this disease in 2021 amounting to approximately $966 billion only in the US;
• The number of people with diabetes (both type 1 and 2) is increasing in all Countries;
• 80% of people with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries.
• The largest number of people with diabetes are between the ages of 40 and 59. 86,000 children developed type 1 diabetes in one year (current number of individuals with type 1 diabetes in the world is 9.5 millions).