Diabetes is the epidemic of the 21st century and the biggest challenge confronting Australia’s health system.

Facts about diabetes in Australia

• More than 300 Australians develop diabetes every day. That’s one person every five minutes
• Almost 1.9 million Australians have diabetes. This includes all types of diagnosed diabetes (almost 1.5 million known and registered) as well as silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (up to 500,000 estimated) (Source)
• Almost 120,000 Australians have developed diabetes in the past year
• For every person diagnosed with diabetes there is usually a family member or carer who also ‘lives with diabetes’ every day in a support role. This means that an estimated 2.4 million Australians are affected by diabetes every day
• Total annual cost impact of diabetes in Australia estimated at $17.6 billion (inflation adjusted) (Source)
• Diabetes is the seventh most common cause of death by disease in Australia
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians (Source), 4.3 times more likely to be hospitalised with type 2 diabetes (Source), and four times as likely to die from it (Source)
• Around 1.3 million people are hospitalised with diabetes-related conditions every year (Source)

Type 1 diabetes

• 134,000 Australians are currently living with type 1 diabetes
• Represents 10 per cent of all cases of diabetes and is increasing each year
• Occurs when the cells of the pancreas are destroyed by the body’s immune system, meaning that the body is unable to produce any insulin
• Requires treatment with ongoing insulin therapy
• Is not caused by lifestyle factors and has no known cause or cure
• Is often diagnosed in childhood, although it can occur at any age

Type 2 diabetes

• Almost 1.3 million Australians are currently living with type 2 diabetes
• Represents 85 to 90 per cent of all cases of diabetes and is increasing each year
• Occurs when the pancreas is not producing enough insulin, or when the insulin that is produced is not working effectively
• Risk factors include age, family history, ethnicity and lifestyle factors such as an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity
• Almost 60 per cent of all cases of type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented with changes to diet and lifestyle

Gestational diabetes

• Affects about one in six pregnancies
• Is the fastest growing type of diabetes in Australia
• Occurs during pregnancy and usually goes away after the baby is born
• Women who have had gestational diabetes are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life
• Risk factors include age, ethnicity and being above a healthy weight range when pregnant
• Gestational diabetes may also occur in women with no known risk factors and should be tested for at 24–28 weeks of pregnancy

Diabetes complications

Blindness

Diabetes is the leading cause of preventable blindness in working age Australians. (Source)

Between 25% and 35% of Australians report some form of diabetic retinopathy. [Source]

The total indirect cost of vision loss associated with diabetic macular oedema in Australia is estimated to be $2.07 billion per annum. This is more than $28,000 per person with diabetic macular oedema. (Source)

Amputations

Every year there are more than 27,600 hospital admissions in Australia for diabetes-related foot ulcers in Australia – many of these end with people having a limb, or part of a limb, amputated. (Source)

There are more than 4,400 amputations every year in Australia as a result of diabetes. Annually, more than 1700 people with diabetes die as a direct result of foot ulcers and lower limb wounds. (Source)

In 2005, more than 1000 people with diabetes died as a direct result of foot ulcers and lower limb wounds – around 8% of all diabetes-related deaths. (Source)

Experts estimate diabetes-related foot disease costs Australia around $1.6 billion every single year. (Source)

Heart disease

People with diabetes are between two and four times more likely to develop heart disease. (Source)

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for people with type 2 diabetes. It contributes to almost two-thirds of all deaths in people with diabetes. (Source)

Between one and three per cent of people with type 2 diabetes experience a heart attack every year. That means that in a given year between 11,000 and 33,000 Australians will suffer a diabetes-related heart attack. (Source)

Almost two thirds of Australian adults with type 2 diabetes self-report some form of cardiovascular disease. (Source)

People with diabetes may develop heart disease 15 years earlier than people without diabetes. (Source)

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Australia. It kills one Australian every 12 minutes. (Source)

Kidney disease

There are more than 250,000 hospitalisations for diabetes and kidney disease every year. (Source)

12,400 people with diabetes are on dialysis or have received a kidney transplant . (Source)

An estimated 280,000 people with diabetes are living with kidney disease. (Source)

Diabetes is increasing

Diabetes is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia; increasing at a faster rate than other chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. All types of diabetes are increasing in prevalence:

• Type 1 diabetes accounts for 10% of all diabetes and is increasing
• Type 2 diabetes accounts for 85% of all diabetes and is increasing
• Gestational diabetes in pregnancy is increasing