papers

Obesity and co-morbidities in type 2 diabetes: an opportunity to bend the Health Care Cost Curve

Rev Clin Esp 214:140-142.

University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

Obesity has long been known as a driver and predictor of the increasing global prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has projected that more than 532 million people will developed diabetes by 2030. In Spain the evidence on the incidence of type 2 diabetes is limited due to insufficient data.1 However, it is recognized that both the incidence and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes are increasing and the age at diagnosis is decreasing. A recent national survey found that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Spain is 13.8% (95% CI 12.8–14.7%).2 This prevalence can be subdivided into patients who have been diagnosed (7.8%) and those not yet diagnosed (6%). A lower prevalence of 10.3% has been reported in Catalonia and the prevalence of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes was 6.7% in this area. The national survey supported the association between diabetes and obesity. Spain’s obesity prevalence rate of 28.2% ranks among the highest in the OECD countries.