DIABETES & SOLUTIONS
Home Health Topics Countries Newsroom Emergencies Data About Us Home / Newsroom / Fact sheets / Detail / Diabetes Credits Diabetes 15 May 2020 العربية 中文 Français Русский Español Key facts The number of people with diabetes rose from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. The global prevalence of diabetes* among adults over 18 years of age rose from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014 (1). Diabetes prevalence has been rising more rapidly in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation. In 2016, an estimated 1.6 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes. Another 2.2 million deaths were attributable to high blood glucose in 2012. Almost half of all deaths attributable to high blood glucose occur before the age of 70 years. WHO estimates that diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in 2016. A healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal bo...