It is thought that the number of diabetics across the world will increase by no less than 130% in the next 25 years! This means that by 2025, diabetes is likely to affect 5.4% of the total adult population – which is more than one person in 20! This is a worrying situation, particularly as far as type 2 diabetes is concerned: previously known as non-insulin dependent diabetes, it now accounts for 90% of all cases.
As for the Arab world, recent figures show that it is suffering terribly from this scourge. In the Middle East alone, 9.2% of the population is believed to be affected, making it a world record. In Qatar, more than 24% (about one in four persons) of the resident populations is, reportedly, diabetic.
The countries of the Maghreb are also vying for position in the diabetes stakes. The WHO believes that at least 4.5% of over-20s are affected by type 2 diabetes and this is likely to rise to 6% or even 7% by 2025. In Morocco, 8% of the population is diabetic – that is, two and a half million people out of a population of 30 million.
In the United States, the prevalence of the disease has increased by 49% over the course of the last eleven years! A recent research report by REACH, indicated that the age-adjusted death rates from heart disease and diabetes among African Americans in South Los Angeles, United States, are much higher compared to the rates for Los Angeles as a whole. In South Carolina, continues the report, “African Americans are at greater risk of developing diabetes and are at greater risk of developing diabetes-related complications”.
The complications, according to the report, include; heart disease, stroke, blindness, renal failure and the need for amputation.
