Diabetes could cost you your Kidneys: Act Now! FACTS and FIGURES 


There are currently over 190 million people with diabetes worldwide

This figure is projected to rise to 330 million by 2025, largely due to population growth, ageing, urbanization, unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle.z


By 2025, the number of people with diabetes is expected to:

More than double in Africa, the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, and South East Asia.

Rise by nearly 20% in Europe, 50% in North America, 85% in South and Central America And 75% in the western Pacific region.


There are two basic forms of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes most frequently affects children and adolescents and accounts for approximately 5 to 10% of all diabetes.

Type 2 is by far the most common from of diabetes and occurs primarily in adults, although it is now affecting children and young adults to a greater extern. It accounts for approximately 90 to 95% of all diabetes.


In 2003, the countries with most people with diabetes are:

India (35.5 million), China(23.8 million), the United States(16 million), Russia (9.7 million) and Japan (6.7 million)

Nauru (30.2%), United Arad Emirates (20.1%), Kuwait (12.8%) and Tango (12.4%) are the countries with the highest diabetes prevalence in the adult population.



In some countries this figure may rise to 80%.


Everybody is at risk of getting diabetes.

Family history, age, excess weight, lack of exercise and bad dietary habits all contribute to the onset of diabetes.

Being overweight considerably increases the risk of developing diabetes (80% of people with type 2 diabetes are either overweight or obese).


It left untreated, diabetes can cause serious long- term complications:

Kidney disease: Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in the developed world and accounts for approximately 35% to 40% of new cases each year.

Eye disease: Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in adults in developed countries. The incidence of blindness than in the general population.

Nerve disease: Nerve damage combined with peripheral vascular disease make diabetes the most common cause of amputation that is not the result of an accident. People with diabetes are 15 to 40 times more likely to require a lower limb amputation compared to the general population.

Cardiovascular disease: People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people without diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes have the same risk of heart attack as people without diabetes who have already had a heart attack. The risk of mortality for cardiovascular disease is 40 times greater than in people without Diabetes.


The early stages of kidney disease (Nephropathy) are common.

Over a lifetime about 50% of people with Type 1 diabetes develop microalbuminaria.



In Caucasian people with type 2 diabetes, 5 10% reach end-stage kidney disease (ESRD), whilst in non-Caucasians the proportion is higher.

Diabetic kidney disease is the single commonest cause of entry to renal replacement programmes (dialysis or transplantation) in most countries in the world.

In Germany and the USA, over 40% of people with end stage renal disease have diabetes have diabetes. The number of ESRD patients worldwide requiring dialysis was estimated to be 1,000,000n in 2000, 260,000 of whom reside in the U.S. This population is estimated to be growing at an annual rate of 8%.


Up to 40% of new cases of ESRD are attributed to diabetes.

The risk ESRD is 12 times as high in people with type 1 diabetes compared to type 2 diabetes.


There are two treatment options when kidneys fail:

Dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal) and transplantation.

In the United States, nearly 3000,000 people are on Chronic Kidney. Imposing a huge burden on health care services. It isestimated that diabetes accounts for between 5% - 10% of the nation's health budget.


The costs of dialysis or transplantation are high.

Dialysis cost around US $ 35,000n per person per year.

Kidney transplant costs around US $ 15,000 for the first year, and 6,000 per year thereafter.

The devastating complications of diabetes are


Kidney failure from diabetes happens so slowly that you may not feel sick at all many years.

You will know you have kidney problems only if your doctor tests your urine fro protein. Each year, make sure that your doctor tests your urine to see if your kidneys are leaking albumin


Tight blood sugar control reduces the risk of microalbuminaria by one third.

There is conclusive evidence that good control of blood glucose levels can substantially reduce the risk of developing complications and slow their progression in all types of diabetes.

The management of high blood pressure and raised blood lipids (fats) is equally important.


An estimated 25% of the world's nations:

Have not made any specific provision for diabetes care in national health plans although the human and economic costs of diabetes could be significantly reduced by investing in prevention, particularly early detection to avoid the onset of diabetes complications.

Copyright @2008 Utkal Kidney Foundation All rights reserved