The silent epidemic: More than 79,000 cases of diabetes were recorded last year
In the National Health Service, 879,853 patients have been registered with this disease. Actual values, however, may be higher.
Most of the deaths were of people 80 years of age or older.
On Wednesday, November 30, the Directorate General of Health (DGS) presented a report on the development of diabetes in Portugal. Between October 2021 and September 2022, 79,241 new cases were recorded. In the country’s health centers, there are 879,853 users diagnosed with the disease.
In primary care (CSP), 2021 data has already shown the upward trend of pathology. In the National Health Service, about 857,272 people are registered with diabetes, of which 74,396 are newly diagnosed. However, the General Directorate of Democracy believes that this number does not correspond to reality, with the discovery of many cases.
Between 2019 and 2021, 2,431,050 people were identified who, although they do not currently have diabetes, have a high likelihood of developing the disease in the future. Within this number, 770,000 are at high risk of developing pathology in the next 10 years.
According to the latest report from the National Diabetes Programme, in 2020, the disease was responsible for 3.3 percent of all deaths in Portugal. It’s a decreasing value since 2016, when it reached 3.9 percent. About 66 percent of deaths occurred in patients 80 years of age or older.
Symptoms of the disease are subtle and can easily be confused with other problems. The myths associated with it also make it difficult to diagnose in the early stages. If you think only overweight people get diabetes, read on Article From NiT where we make it clear that this is not true.
