Wales has been plunged into a diabetes “crisis” with more people in the country living with diabetes than ever before, a survey has found.
Diabetes UK Cymru has released figures showing that 7.1 per cent of those aged 17 and over in Wales have diabetes. It represents more than 183,000 people, a hike of 6,000 from the same period in 2015.
This percentage is higher than anywhere else in the UK, according to the report. In England, the percentage of people aged over 17 with diabetes is 6.4 per cent, while it is 5.6 per cent in Northern Ireland and 4.8 per cent in Scotland. The Scottish figure was worked out differently as it is a percentage of the whole country.
The charity has released the information to mark Diabetes Week, which runs until June 18. It says there will be 4,500 more people in the UK with diabetes by the end of the awareness campaign.
The survey also revealed that more than half of those questioned were unaware that poorly-controlled diabetes could lead to health complications, including blindness, amputation, heart attack and stroke.
Chris Askew, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said that this year’s Diabetes Week aimed to set the record straight and focus on the realities of living with the condition.
He said: “There is still a lack of understanding when it comes to people being aware of the seriousness of diabetes and this worries us. The fact that 4,500 people will discover they have diabetes over the next seven days is deeply concerning, and highlights the current scale of the crisis.”
Dai Williams, Diabetes UK Cymru’s Director, added: “There are now the highest ever number of people living with diabetes in Wales, over 183,000. That’s 6,000 more people than were living with the condition during last year’s Diabetes Week, which really highlights the current scale of the crisis.”
