Tofiq Vahid Mehdiyev
DISEASE OF THE 21 ST CENTURY: DIABETES EPIDEMIC AND
ITS PREVENTION
Abstract. The
article presents official statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO),
the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and the American Diabetes
Association (ADA) that diabetes mellitus (DM) continues to grow steadily and
has become an epidemic. According to the information provided by the IDF for
2025, 589 million people (aged 20-79) in the world live with diabetes, which
constitutes (11.1%) of the world's population. At the same time, 252 million
(42.8%) people live without knowing that they have diabetes. In Azerbaijan, in
2024 (aged 20-79), 715.3 thousand people were diagnosed with diabetes, which is
9.9% of the total population, and the number of those whose diabetes diagnosis
was unknown was 33.9%.
The
fact that diabetes mellitus is widespread and continues to increase globally,
and the large number of people who do not know that they have it, indicates
the need for preventive examinations among the general population. Considering
that diabetes causes serious complications, people at risk of diabetes and
prediabetes are recommended to change their lifestyle in a timely manner,
including physical activity and a healthy and proper diet.
Key words: Diabetes
mellitus, World Health Organization, İnternational Diabetes Federation,
American Diabetes Association
