VOA健康报道2024--Study: More Than 800 Million Have Diabetes Worldwide, Many Untreated

A new study reports that more than 800 million adults have diabetes¹ worldwide. And more than half of those aged² over 30 who have the condition are not receiving treatment.

Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar level is too high. If untreated, it can damage the heart, blood vessels³, nerves and other organs.

The study, recently published in the publication Lancet, found that around 828 million people aged 18 and older had diabetes worldwide in 2022. Among those 30 and older, the study said 445 million, or 59 percent, were not receiving treatment.

The study was done by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration⁴ and the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the first worldwide evaluation⁵ based on more than 1,000 studies involving more than 140 million people.

Shocking increase

The WHO estimated that the number of people living with diabetes worldwide rose from 200 million in 1990 to about 830 million in 2022. The study's researchers say the increase has been caused largely by rising cases in low- and middle-income countries. Treatments in those countries have not kept up with the rise, while the situation has improved in some higher-income countries.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that the increase shown in the study was shocking. "To bring the global diabetes epidemic⁶ under control, countries must urgently take action," he said. Those actions should include policies supporting healthy diets and physical activity, as well as health systems that can prevent, identify and treat the condition.

Treating the disease is costly⁷

Jean Claude Mbanya is a professor at the University of Yaounde I in Cameroon. He said that in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, only 5-10 percent of those estimated to have diabetes were getting treatment. He added that treating diabetes, either with insulin or drugs, can be costly. "A huge number (are) at risk of serious health complications," he said.

Some of the largest improvements, 25 to 37 percentage points, happened in countries in Latin America, central and western Europe, Canada, South Korea, Russia, Seychelles, and Jordan.

The WHO says the number of deaths caused by diabetes has been increasing since 2000. In 2021, the disease was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths.

Symptoms and prevention

The health agency says symptoms of diabetes may happen suddenly or take many years to be noticed. They include:

feeling very thirsty

needing to urinate more often than usual

blurred⁸ vision

feeling tired

losing weight

The best way to prevent or delay the illness, the WHO says, is to make lifestyle changes. For example:

keeping a healthy body weight

staying active with at least 150 minutes of exercise each week

eating a healthy diet and avoiding sugar and saturated⁹ fat

not smoking tobacco.

 

Words in This Story

evaluate - v. to judge the value or condition of (someone or something) in a careful and thoughtful way

income - n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.

global - adj. involving the entire world

insulin - n. a substance that your body makes and uses to turn sugar into energy

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

5 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

6 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液