Spanish diabetes has increased 42%

Second highest rate in all of Europe for Spanish diabetes

The pandemic is still ongoing in Spain, although the country is doing well to suppress a dread sixth wave of infections going into the winter months. Another health crisis is on the horizon though as a new set of data has shown that the country has the second-highest rate of diabetes in Europe. Spanish diabetes rates mean that a minimum of one in seven adults are suffering from the disease according to the 10th edition of the IDF Atlas. 

This increase isn’t just restricted to Spain, however, as the study revealed the global number of people living with diabetes has risen by 16% to 537 million adults, a significant jump from the 2019 results. In Spain, 5.1 million adults have the disease, which costs the health ministry billions of euros in related spending. 

World Diabetes Day is on November 14 and charities from all over the world are raising awareness of the illness and its effects. This is important work, as almost a third of people living with diabetes in Spain are undiagnosed and untreated which leaves them at risk of serious and life-threatening complications. These can include blindness, amputation, strokes and kidney failure. 

Dr Antonio Perez, the president of the Spanish Diabetes Society (SED), says “there has been a sharp increase” in the number of people suffering from diabetes in Spain. He insisted that immediate action must be taken to reverse the trend. “Political and health leaders must move on from words to deeds to improve the lives of people living with diabetes and to prevent the disease in those at high risk of developing it”, he added.

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