Around 19m adults diabetic in Pakistan: IDF

According to the latest statistics released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) on World Diabetes Day, Pakistan is among the top ten countries which suffer an absolute increase in diabetes prevalence.

According to IDF Diabetes Atlas' ninth edition, the prevalence of diabetes in Pakistan has increased to 17.1%, which is 148% higher than the figure mentioned in Diabetes Atlas' eighth edition.

The report states that in 2019, over 19 million adults in Pakistan are estimated to be living with diabetes. It further mentioned that 8.5 million of these 19 million are not diagnosed with the disease and are at risk. Moreover, type-2 diabetes accounts for up to 90% of the total diabetes cases, the latest edition of the Diabetes Atlas states.

Speaking in this regard, a member of IDF Diabetes Atlas Committee, Professor Abdul Basit said on Wednesday that the recently released report is alarming for Pakistan.

"The increasing prevalence of diabetes in Pakistan is a wake-up call," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2019.