Overview
- The Pan American Health Organization reports 828 million adults lived with diabetes in 2022, up from 197 million in 1990, underscoring a rapid global rise.
- In Argentina, the last national survey (2018 ENFR) found 12.7% of adults—over 4 million—living with diabetes, with experts warning of undercounting due to delayed new data.
- Mexico’s burden remains heavy, with 13.6 million adults living with diabetes and roughly 20 million at risk, while Spain estimates about 14% adult prevalence and €14 billion in annual health costs.
- Roughly four in ten people with diabetes are undiagnosed, and clinicians urge screening for prediabetes using ADA thresholds such as fasting glucose 100–124 mg/dL and HbA1c 5.7–6.4%.
- Doctors report rising type 2 diagnoses in children and adolescents linked to obesity and sedentary lifestyles, as advances like GLP‑1 and SGLT2 drugs, continuous glucose monitors, and insulin pumps expand care options amid uneven access.