October 15, 2007
Diabetes, the 21st century epidemic
So you’re finding yourself thirsty all the time — a lot more than usual. Or you’ve been really, really tired lately. Can’t seem to get
enough sleep.
Maybe you’ve dropped a bunch of weight — without even trying. Funny, but these days, it seems you always have to go pee, even when you’ve just gone.
You dismiss it all as just something you’re going through. Somethingthat will pass.
Well, it could be that you’ve developed something that’s going tostick around for the rest of your life.
You could be one of the almost 250 million people around the world who has diabetes. A third of those people aren’t even aware they have the condition. Forty-six per cent of them are between 40 and 59 years old.
Quick facts 2007 2025
World population (billions) 6.6 7.9
Number of people aged 20-79 years with diabetes (millions) 246 380
World diabetes prevalence (%) 7.5 8.0
Source: Diabetes Atlas: International Diabetes Federation
Two million of them are Canadian.
Diabetes — or complications from the disease — now kills 3.8 million people a year or about the same number as HIV/AIDS.
(Read the article)