World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes DayWorld Diabetes Day (WDD) is recognized on November 14, and is led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) to unite the global diabetes community as one voice for diabetes awareness and advocacy. WDD is part of a continuous campaign that brings awareness to making healthier choices and dealing with a chronic condition.

To learn more about how you can get involved with WWD, visit http://www.idf.org/wdd-index/

The IDF (source: Diabetes Atlas, Sixth Edition 2014, http://www.idf.org/diabetesatlas/update-2014) published the following information and projections on the current and future magnitude of the diabetes epidemic.

  • Approximately 387 million adults have diabetes; by 2035 this will rise to 592 million
  • The proportion of people with type 2 diabetes is increasing in most countries
  • 77% of people with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries
  • The greatest number of people with diabetes are between 40 and 59 years of age
  • 179 million people with diabetes are undiagnosed
  • Diabetes caused 4.9 million deaths in 2014; every seven seconds a person dies from diabetes
  • Diabetes caused at least USD 612 billion dollars in health expenditure in 2014 –11% of total spending on adults
  • More than 79,000 children developed type 1 diabetes in 2013
  • More than 21 million live births were affected by diabetes during pregnancy in 2013 – 1 in 6 births
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