Type 1 Diabetes Index Shows Global Toll of the Disease

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Type 1 Diabetes Index Shows Global Toll of the Disease

Some of the world’s leading organizations focused on type 1 diabetes — including JDRF, the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD), the International Diabetes Federation, and Beyond Type 1 — have launched a new tool called the Type 1 Diabetes Index, which is designed to illustrate the impact of type 1 diabetes worldwide.

Known as the T1D Index for short, the new data-based tool aims to show “the human and public health impact of the [type 1 diabetes] crisis in every country across the globe.” The data and methods used to create the T1D Index have been published in a new article in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

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As noted in a press release on the T1D Index from JDRF, one aim of the new tool is to bridge “wide gaps in the data about the incidence and impact” of type 1 diabetes in countries around the world. By getting an accurate picture of the state of type 1 diabetes in every country, stakeholders in the type 1 diabetes crisis — including health professionals, governments, organizations, and private citizens — may be in a better position to intervene in appropriate ways, according to JDRF.

The T1D Index is based on a global survey of over 500 endocrinologists and 400 publications, in an effort to better understand the human impact of type 1 diabetes. One key element of the index is “missing people” in each country — people who would likely be alive today if they hadn’t been lost to complications of type 1 diabetes. Another element fo the index is “healthy years lost,” which includes time lost to poor health, disability, or death due to type 1 diabetes. As of 2022, there are over 3.86 million “missing people” worldwide and an average of 32 “healthy years lost” per person with type 1 diabetes, based on a diagnosis at age 10.

T1D Index identifies key areas for progress

But the T1D Index is about more than identifying losses — it also identifies four key areas in which progress can be made. These areas are timely diagnosis, access to insulin and blood glucose test strips, access to insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems, and prevention and cures.

In the area of timely diagnosis, the T1D Index projects that if everyone in the world got their type 1 diabetes diagnosis quickly enough starting in 2023, an additional 668,000 people could be alive in 2040. While it’s clearly not possible to change the world enough in one year to make this happen, the projection shows how much is at stake when it comes to diagnosing type 1.

Similarly, the index projects that if everyone in the world had perfect access to insulin and test strips starting in 2023, an additional 1.98 million people could be alive in 2040. If everyone had access to insulin pumps and CGM systems for automated insulin delivery by 2023, an additional 673,000 people could be alive in 2040. And with further investment in potential cures for type 1 diabetes, the index estimates that 890,000 more people could be alive in 2040.

Since 2000, JDRF notes, the number of people with type 1 diabetes has increased at four times the rate of global population growth. By 2040, there will be an estimated 17.43 million people living with type 1 diabetes, and the number of “missing people” will be an estimated 6.85 million.

“I am so proud that significant progress has been made to understand [type 1 diabetes’] global impact through the T1D Index,” said JDRF CEO Aaron Kowalski, PhD, in the press release. “We are calling on government and public health decision makers throughout the world to utilize the tool to identify and implement interventions that can change the trajectory of [type 1 diabetes].”

Want to learn more about type 1 diabetes? Read “Type 1 Diabetes Questions and Answers,” “Six Type 1 Diabetes Symptoms You Need to Know,” and “Tests to Diagnose Type 1 Diabetes,” and see our type 1 diabetes videos.

Quinn Phillips

Quinn Phillips

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A freelance health writer and editor based in Wisconsin, Phillips has a degree from Harvard University. He is a former Editorial Assistant for Diabetes Self-Management and has years of experience covering diabetes and related health conditions. Phillips writes on a variety of topics, but is especially interested in the intersection of health and public policy.

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