Rise in Diabetes Prevalence Among Australian Adults to 6.6%

Synopsis

Recent findings reveal that the percentage of Australian adults diagnosed with diabetes has risen to 6.6%, marking a significant increase over the last decade. The data highlights disparities based on socioeconomic status and gender, as well as the alarming trend of rising diabetes prevalence globally.

Key Takeaways

6.6% of Australian adults have diabetes.
29.4% increase in the last decade.
2.7% at high risk of diabetes.
Males show higher prevalence than females.
Disadvantaged areas have more cases.

Canberra, March 31 (NationPress) The share of Australian adults affected by diabetes has surged by nearly one-third over the past ten years, according to official statistics.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics unveiled on Monday the initial findings from its National Health Measures Survey (NHMS), conducted between 2022 and 2024, indicating that 6.6 percent of Australian adults are now diagnosed with diabetes, a rise from 5.1 percent in 2011-12.

This marks a 29.4 percent increase in diabetes prevalence among Australian adults over the 12-year period.

The NHMS, which included biomedical sample collection from participants aged 5 and older throughout Australia, also identified that an additional 2.7 percent of adults are at significant risk for developing diabetes.

The data showed that males are more prone to diabetes than females across all age demographics.

James Mowles, the ABS head of health statistics, stated in a media release that adults residing in the most disadvantaged regions are at a higher risk of diabetes compared to those in more affluent areas.

A study supported by the World Health Organisation and published in The Lancet in November 2024 highlighted a global rise in adult diabetes prevalence from 7 percent to 14 percent between 1990 and 2022.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described this increase in diabetes cases as alarming, urging nations to take immediate steps to control the global diabetes epidemic.

Furthermore, a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released in December estimated that 5.1 percent of Australians, equating to over 1.3 million individuals, were living with diagnosed diabetes in 2021, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

The data indicated that the population with diabetes in Australia has escalated nearly 2.8 times from 2000 to 2021.

According to WHO, approximately 830 million individuals worldwide live with diabetes, predominantly in low- and middle-income nations. More than half of these individuals are not receiving treatment, with both the population of those diagnosed with diabetes and those untreated steadily rising over recent decades.