Diabetes is a chronic disease which causes high blood sugar levels due to the body not being able to produce insulin or to adequately use the insulin it produces. In recent years diabetes has been recognized as one of the main health concerns worldwide as it has become one of the leading causes of death. Furthermore, the
is forecast to increase in the coming decades and reach 12.2 percent of the population by 2045. While type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented, 95 percent of people with diabetes are affected by type 2 diabetes, for which age, poor eating habits, and a sedentary lifestyle are relevant risk factors. In 2021, in over half of European countries, more than 30 percent of the population had an
Prevalence of diabetes in Europe
Across European countries, Spain had the highest
prevalence of diabetes in Europe as of 2021 with almost 15 percent of adults in the country diagnosed with this chronic disease, followed closely by Portugal with around 13 percent of adults with diabetes at that time. Most European countries had a prevalence rate of diabetes of approximately eight or nine percent. In 2021, diabetes was responsible for 43.4
deaths per 100,000 population in Czechia, representing the highest figure in Europe.
Mortality due to diabetes was noticeably higher among men than women across Europe.
Economic and health burden
Diabetes can put a heavy economic burden on health systems in Europe. Due to the nature of universal healthcare in European countries, the cost burden of diabetes is not be passed onto the patients. For example, in Switzerland, almost 13 thousand U.S. dollars was
spent on healthcare per person living with diabetes in 2021. In the UK, France, and Germany between 5.8 and 6.7 thousand U.S. dollars were spent per person with diabetes per year.
Hospital admissions due to diabetes in Europe were the highest in Germany, at 172 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. Complications from diabetes puts sufferers at a much greater risk of lower leg amputation. In Romania and Czechia, there were over 18
lower extremity amputations among diabetes patients per 100,000 population in 2021.
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