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China: largest diabetes population

New study suggests 92.4 million may have the disease

Posted in Environment and design on 25th March, 2010 | no responses

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that the prevalence of diabetes is much higher than previously thought. The survey, of over 46,000 people, found that 10.6% of men and 8.8% women have diabetes, which equates to around 92.4 million cases country-wide – more even than India (although see also an interesting blog on the BMJ website on this, by Venkat Narayan, here >>).

In addition:

  • Prevalence increases with weight of individuals – among those of normal body mass index it is 7.6%, among the overweight (BMI 25–29.9) it is 12.8%, and among those with BMI over 30 it is 18.5%.
  • The prevalence of diabetes was higher among urban residents (11.4%) than among rural dwellers (8.2%).

A further 148.2 million adults are thought to have impaired glucose tolerance (prediabetes), and most cases of the disease are thought to be undiagnosed.

Source: BBC New Online, 25 March 2010; Wenying Yang et al., ‘Prevalence of diabetes among men and women in China’, NEJM, March 2010.

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