Health

Millions have diabetes without knowing it

Date:
Source:: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Summary:: A sweeping global study reveals that nearly half of people with diabetes don’t even know they have it, with young adults being the most overlooked. While most diagnosed patients receive treatment, less than half achieve proper blood sugar control, leaving only about one in five with well-managed diabetes.

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Millions Have Diabetes Without Knowing It — Nearly half of diabetes cases remain undiagnosed, and even among those treated, only a fraction achieve proper control. Without stronger screening and better access to care, the world faces a fast-approaching diabetes crisis. Credit: Shutterstock

A large portion of the global population with diabetes remains undiagnosed or is not receiving optimal care, according to a new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a global network of collaborators conducted the analysis of the diabetes care cascade for all ages, both sexes, and 204 countries and territories from 2000 to 2023.

In 2023, an estimated 44% of people aged 15 and older with diabetes are unaware of their condition. Underdiagnosis was greatest among young adults -- despite facing higher risks for long-term complications.

Among those who were diagnosed, 91% were on some form of pharmacological treatment. However, of those receiving treatment, only 42% had their blood sugar levels managed optimally. This translates to just 21% of all people with diabetes globally having their condition under optimal management.

Despite improvements over two decades, the research also found substantial regional diagnosis and treatment disparities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. High-income North America had the highest rates of diagnosis, while high-income Asia Pacific showed the highest rates of treatment among diagnosed individuals. Southern Latin America had the highest rates of optimal blood sugar management among those treated. In contrast, Central sub-Saharan Africa faced the largest gaps in diagnosis, with less than 20% of people with diabetes being aware of their condition.

"By 2050, 1.3 billion people are expected to be living with diabetes, and if nearly half don't know they have a serious and potentially deadly health condition, it could easily become a silent epidemic," said Lauryn Stafford, first author and researcher at IHME.

Given the pace at which cases are rapidly rising, the research underscores the urgent need for investment in screening programs for younger populations and access to medications and glucose-monitoring tools, especially in underserved regions. In 2022, the WHO set a target to have 80% of people with diabetes clinically diagnosed by 2030.

The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Lauryn K Stafford, Anna Gage, Yvonne Yiru Xu, Madeleine Conrad, Ismael Barreras Beltran, Edward J Boyko, Bruce B Duncan, Simon I Hay, Hailey Lenox, Rafael Lozano, Dianna J Magliano, Carlos A Aguilar Salinas, Nikhil Tandon, Pedro Zitko, Christopher J L Murray, Theo Vos, Annie Haakenstad, Kanyin Liane Ong. Global, regional, and national cascades of diabetes care, 2000–23: a systematic review and modelling analysis using findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study. The Lancet Diabetes, 2025; DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(25)00217-7 ^[1]

Cite This Page:

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. "Millions have diabetes without knowing it." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 September 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250914205845.htm>.

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. (2025, September 15). Millions have diabetes without knowing it. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 15, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250914205845.htm

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. "Millions have diabetes without knowing it." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250914205845.htm (accessed September 15, 2025).

Guava’s secret molecule could fight liver cancer

You may not be aware that most of the medicines that have been approved for treatment are rooted in nature.

For example, the bark of willow trees has been called nature's aspirin because it contains a chemical called salicin. The human body converts salicin into salicylic acid, which relieves pain and fights fevers.

New research by William Chain, associate professor in the University of Delaware's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and his lab, uses a molecule found in a tropical fruit to offer hope in the fight against liver-related cancers, one of the world's top causes of cancer deaths.

Using a process called natural product total synthesis, Chain and his lab group have invented a pathway that uses widely available chemicals to create molecules found in a guava plant that are known to fight these deadly cancers. The work was published in one of the leading chemistry publications, the international journal Angewandte Chemie.

The research provides scientists around the world with an easy and low cost method to create large amounts of the naturally-occurring molecules, and opens doors to more effective and cheaper treatments.

"The majority of clinically approved medicines are either made from a natural product or are based on one," Chain said. "But there aren't enough natural resources to make enough treatments. Now chemists will be able to take our manuscripts and basically follow our 'recipe' and they can make it themselves."

The discovery invites collaboration with scientists around the world.

"We are the first ones to pave that road, and other people can repave it any which way. Find the shortcuts if they have to. But since we entered into that unknown territory, I think we helped shed light on this unknown pathway that can get us there. And I think that's the cool part," said Liam O'Grady, doctoral student in Chain's lab and the article's first author.

The potential impact is enormous. The number of liver and bile duct cancer cases has grown dramatically in recent years, with one in 125 men and women globally projected to be diagnosed with hepatocellular cancer over the course of their lives.

In the United States, chemotherapies for liver cancers are a multi-billion-dollar health burden and the current five-year survival rates for late-stage liver cancers are under 15%. In 2025 in the US alone, more than 42,000 people will be diagnosed and over 30,000 will lose their battle.

The team is working with the National Cancer Institute on the next steps for the process, and whether the guava molecule may be effective in fighting other types of cancers.

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