The World Health Organisation has called for a step up in prevention and treatment methods for diabetes to reduce its prevalence.

WHO says that the prevalence of the disease has almost quadrupled in the past three decades.

In its first global report on diabetes — a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces — the UN health agency warned that cases of diabetes had increased to 422 million in 2014 from 108 million in 1980. The report added that diabetes now affects almost one in 11 adults.

“Both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past few decades,” states the report, released on World Health Day.

It also indicates that among the major factors driving the dramatic rise are overweight and obesity, with one-in-three people being overweight.

Although the report lumps together both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, it notes that high blood sugar is a major killer, being linked to 3.7 million deaths around the world each year.

The surge in cases is, however, predominantly down to Type 2, which is closely linked to unhealthy lifestyles.

The report warns the numbers will continue to increase unless “drastic action” is taken.

Apart from stepping up prevention and treatment, WHO also proposes that countries should implement global commitments to address diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets — which call for reducing premature death from NCDs, including diabetes, by 30 per cent by 2030.

“If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: To eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO director-general.

“Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes,” he added.

Access to insulin

Dr Etienne Krug, the WHO official in charge of leading efforts against diabetes, said that to fight the disease, there was a need to improve access to insulin.

“Access to insulin is a matter of life or death for many people with diabetes. Improving access to insulin and non-communicable diseases medicines in general should be a priority,” Dr Krug said.

Failing to control levels of sugar in the blood can triple the risk of a heart attack and leaves people 20 times more likely to have a leg amputated as well as increasing the risk of stroke, kidney failure, blindness and complications in pregnancy.

Currently, diabetes is the eighth biggest killer in the world, accounting for 1.5 million deaths each year.

An additional 2.2 million deaths are linked to high blood sugar levels, while 43 per cent of the deaths were recorded in patients below the age of 70 years.

“The percentage of deaths attributable to diabetes that occur prior to age 70 is higher in low-and middle-income countries than in high-income countries,” the report noted.

WHO had earlier warned that while HIV/Aids is still the leading cause of death in the region, a new generation of non-communicable diseases — cancer, cardiovascular illness and diabetes — are taking their toll on the population.