Diabetes: 600,000 more sufferers within five years

14.11.2018 10:50

More and more people in Germany are diabetic. This emerges from the BARMER “Diabetes Atlas” for World Diabetes Day on November 14th. According to the analysis, in 2017, 9.2 percent of the population, i.e. 7.6 million citizens, suffered from diabetes. That is almost six percent more than in 2013 with 8.7 percent of the population. More than 90 percent of those affected suffer from type 2 diabetes.

“The fact that more and more people are diabetics is not just due to demographic change. Unhealthy diet and lack of exercise also play a role. “It is therefore time for the National Diabetes Strategy anchored in the coalition agreement to be designed and implemented,” says Prof. Dr. Christoph Straub, CEO of Barmer.

According to the “Diabetes Atlas”, in 2017 the highest diabetes rates were in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt with 11.5 percent each, Brandenburg (11.3 percent), Thuringia (11.1 percent) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (eleven percent). . The lowest rates were in Schleswig-Holstein (eight percent) and Hamburg (8.2 percent). “The regional fluctuations in diabetes rates are not due to different age or gender structures,” says Straub. However, positive developments have been observed in Saxony and Thuringia over the last five years. There the rate fell by 0.2 percent, while elsewhere the rates of those affected increased moderately.

Early and targeted prevention is required

Those who eat healthily and exercise enough usually reduce the risk of diabetes. That's why Barmer is already involved in targeted projects for health promotion and prevention in childhood, in daycare centers and schools.