Number of Vietnamese with diabetes increase by 43% in 3 years

Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, deputy minister of health, said Monday that among those 5 million cases, only around 35% got diagnosed and 23% are being treated in medical facilities.

“The number of people with diabetes in Vietnam is expected to quickly rise in the coming years,” said Huong.

In 2019, the Ministry of Health announced there were 3.5 million Vietnamese afflicted with diabetes, and the figure could double in 2045. Among these 3.5 million cases, around 69% were undiagnosed, and only 29% were in treatment.

The rising number of diabetes cases in Vietnam corresponds with the global situation, considering how diabetes is one of the most common non-infectious diseases on the globe, Huong said. In 2021, there were around 53 million people with diabetes around the world, with one in every 10 people aged 20-79 with the disease, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Among the adult cases, 50% are undiagnosed, Huong added.

Tran Huu Dang, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Diabetes and Endocrinology, said diabetes complications are the most dangerous risks. The disease is one of the leading causes for disabilities and early deaths in most countries, and also among the leading causes for blindness, cardiovascular diseases and kidney failure.

In Vietnam, around 55% of diabetes patients have complications involving cardiovascular health, eyes and the nervous system, or kidneys.

The fact that 63% of diabetes cases are undiagnosed is a challenge for Vietnam’s diabetes control strategy. The disease is a burden for society, bringing risks to the economy, the medical system and the population, he added.

Causes of diabetes may vary, but mostly due to being overweight, obesity and sedentary lifestyles, according to Phan Huong Duong, deputy director of the National Hospital of Endocrinology.

“Early diagnoses and treatment of diabetes would either prevent or delay dangerous complications,” Duong said.