Prevalence and Incidence
Today, there are more than 285 million people around the world with Diabetes, an almost eight-fold increase in just over 20 years.
If nothing is done to slow down this epidemic disease, the number of people with Diabetes may reach 440 million worldwide within the next 20 years. It is predicted that each year a further 7 million people will develop Diabetes.
Furthermore, it is estimated that the costs for treatment of Diabetes complications account between 5 and 10 % of total healthcare spending in the world, which implicates a huge burden to welfare systems both, in Europe and the U.S., and in other developed and developing countries.
Links:
http://www.idf.org/
http://www.diabetesatlas.org/content/some-285-million-people-worldwide-will-live-diabetes-2010