Diabetes as a silent pandemic: 9% of Italians between 50 and 69 years of age suffer from it but it is growing among young people
It is estimated that one in ten people will develop diabetes by 2045, but even today the National Institute of Health reminds us that there is a lack of appropriate patient care and the ability to monitor the disease
Key points
Diabetes now represents a major public health challenge, with just under 5% of Italians having reported a diagnosis in the last two years and an estimated prevalence of almost 4 million people, and rising steadily. This was pointed out by researchers from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Iss) on the occasion of World Diabetes Day, which is celebrated on 14 November. "The prevalence of diabetes increases with age, and in people between 50 and 69 years old it is close to 9 per cent," emphasises Iss president Rocco Bellantone. "This is a major problem for public health in our country, on which the Institute is strongly committed in several areas, from epidemiology to patient management and prevention.
The numbers
According to data from the Passi surveillance coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in the two-year period 2023-2024 just under 5% of the adult population aged 18-69 years reported a diagnosis of diabetes. The prevalence of diabetics increases with age (it is 2% among people under 50 years of age and is close to 9% among those aged 50-69), is more frequent among men than women (5.2% vs. 4.4%) and in the socio-economically disadvantaged population groups in terms of education or economic conditions (it is close to 16% among those who have no educational qualifications or at most an elementary school leaving certificate and reaches 10% among people with many economic difficulties). There is no wide geographical gradient but it is statistically significant to the disadvantage of residents in the South, among whom the prevalence of diabetes is 6% (vs 4% in the North).
In general, the prevalence of diabetics has been stable since 2008. In the age-stratified analysis, however, a statistically significant decrease can be observed for the 50-69-year-old class and an increase, albeit small, for the younger classes.
Risk factors
Diabetes is strongly associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, excess weight and sedentariness, all of which are much more frequent among those diagnosed with diabetes: 50% report a diagnosis of hypertension (vs 16% among those without a diabetes diagnosis), 40% report a diagnosis of hypercholesterolaemia (vs 17% among those without diabetes), 70% report being overweight (Imc ≥ 25, vs 42% among those without a diabetes diagnosis) and, of these, only 46% are following a diet to try to lose weight, 48% of people with diabetes are completely sedentary (vs 33% among people without a diagnosis of diabetes), 22% smoke (vs 24% among people without a diagnosis of diabetes).
Few controls
About one third of diabetic patients report being followed exclusively by the diabetes centre (32%), even fewer by their general practitioner (26%) and just over one third by both (36%). Few report being followed by other specialists (3%) 2 out of 100 report not being followed by anyone. Almost 69% of all people who report having diabetes had their glycated haemoglobin checked in the 12 months preceding the interview, but the figure is not very reassuring because only 36% report having their glycated haemoglobin checked in the 4 months preceding the interview (a figure that is constantly falling); 32% had checked it between 5 and 12 months prior to the interview, and less than 9% report having had the test for more than 12 months; in addition, there is a not inconsiderable proportion of people with diabetes who do not know how to answer this question because they claim not to know this test, amounting to 16%.
