- Diabetes currently occupies the third position in causes of mortality in Mexico, just below heart disease and Covid-19.
- It is estimated that there are about 14 million adults between the ages of 20 and 79 in the country with this condition.
- Therefore, 13.5 percent of the population has this condition.
The Covid-19 pandemic remains active but it should not be forgotten that there are other highly relevant diseases. As a result of the health emergency, other conditions have been forgotten and it is quite serious because the patients are the most affected. In this case, the biggest problem facing Mexico is the The prevalence of diabetes continues to increase.
A global public health problem
In this case, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines diabetes mellitus as a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not secrete enough insulin or when the body does not effectively use the insulin it produces. A common effect that it causes when the patient does not control it is hyperglycemiawhich, over time, seriously damages many organs and systems of the body.
Based on global statistics, Until 2014, 8.5% of those over 18 years of age suffered from diabetes. In 2019, this condition was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths, and of all deaths from this condition, 48 percent occurred before the age of 70.
The WHO also indicates that Between 2000 and 2016, premature death rates from diabetes increased by five percent. Until recently, this condition was only seen in adults, but it is now occurring more and more frequently in children.
After learning about the world scene, now is the time to focus on what is happening locally. For this purpose, the platform hellosafe published the results of a regional study that places Mexico as the second country with the highest prevalence of diabetes in Latin America.
The work indicates that there are 14 million adults between the ages of 20 and 79 who have diabetes. Therefore, 13.5 percent of the population has this condition.
From the above, the only nation in the region with a higher figure is Belize because its diabetes prevalence rate is 17.1 percent.
On the other hand, it is necessary to take into account that there is a close relationship between the diabetes and obesity. It is true that one is not the cause of the other, but they usually maintain a close relationship.
Increases mortality from diabetes in Mexico
For its part, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), Diabetes is the third leading cause of death in the country. The only ones that exceed it are heart disease and Covid-19.
Last year, 151,214 people died from diabetes, which represents 13.9% of all deaths in the country. These figures are three times higher than those reported in 2000.
However, there are states where the number of diabetes deaths it is higher than in others, as is the case of Baja California Sur, which only has 503 deaths in 2020 compared to the State of Mexico, with 23,753.
Similarly, the study carried out by the HelloSafe platform offers other important data that shows the danger of this condition in our country.
- The cost of diabetes treatment will increase in the coming years, to exceed 8,000 pesos per month.
- The current total figure for the social cost of diabetes treatment in Mexico amounts to more than 85 billion pesos per year. In 2040, it will be more than 200 billion.
- Most deaths from diabetes are concentrated in the State of Mexico, Mexico City and Veracruz.