UK diabetes total soars to more than 3.2m people

THE NUMBER of people with diabetes in the UK is now more than 3.2 million, with last year seeing the biggest jump in cases since 2008.

NHS f igures show 3,208,014 adults are now diagnosed with the condition. Around 850,000 more people have diabetes without knowing it.

The rise is being fuelled by cases of type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles.

Last year, there were 163,000 more people across the UK who have been diagnosed with diabetes compared to 2012.

This is the biggest yearly increase since 2008. It means 6% of UK adults are now diagnosed with diabetes.

In 1996, the number of people diagnosed with both types of diabetes was thought to stand at about 1.4 million.

While the overall rise could be partly down to improvements in recording and diagnosis, experts at Diabetes UK, said the sharp rise over the last decade — fuelled by type 2 — shows no signs of slowing down.

The charity warned that more needs to be done to target those at risk of type 2 as well as improving healthcare for all people with diabetes.

The f igures come after Cardiff University researchers said last week that insulin use has trebled over the last 20 years in the UK, driven by high rates of type 2.

Type 1 diabetes, which accounts for around 10% of all cases, usually develops in childhood.

Baroness Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “The big increase in the number of people with diabetes conf irms that we are in the middle of an unfolding public health disaster that demands urgent action.”