Problems with access to insulin will only worsen

By 2030, about 79 million people with type 2 diabetes will need insulin. A study reveals, however, that half of them will have trouble getting them.

Worldwide, more than 500 million people are affected by diabetes problems (around 3.5 million people in France). In these people, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, thus preventing the regulation of glucose in the body. For the most part, insulin injections are needed to restore glucose levels. Problem: Not everyone has access.

Access problems that will only worsen

About 33 million people who currently need insulin would indeed have no access to treatment, often too expensive. An already very complicated situation which could only get worse.

Based on the available data, the researchers have indeed estimated that between 2018 and 2030, the number of people with diabetes in the world would increase from 406 million to 511 million. Of this half billion people, more than half will live in China (130 million), India (98 million) and the United States (32 million).

Problem: according to this recent study published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and EndocrinologyAbout 79 million of these people will need insulin, but half will not have access to it. The number of people lacking insulin to manage their type 2 diabetes could then climb to nearly 40 million by 2030.

"More efforts need to be made to solve this impending health problem"

"These estimates suggest that current levels of insulin access are very inadequate compared to projected needs, particularly in Africa and Asia, and that additional efforts must be made to address this impending health problem"said Dr. Sanjay Basu of Stanford University in the United States and lead author of the study.

"The number of adults with type 2 diabetes is expected to increase over the next 12 years as a result of aging, urbanization and related changes in diet and physical activity, continues the researcher. Unless governments start taking initiatives to make insulin available and affordable, its use will still be far from optimal. ".

Researchers stress the need to make insulin – expensive and often out of reach of the poorest countries – more affordable in the coming years, in the hope that everyone can have equal access to treatment.

And if we finished with insulin injections?

A recent clinical trial proposed a few months ago the pure and simple destruction of the mucous membrane of the small intestine. The idea: let the body create a new one.

In just one hour, the researchers explain that they have stabilized the blood sugar levels of about 50 people with type 2 diabetes for almost a year. This revealed a link between the absorption of nutrients from the intestinal membrane and the development of insulin resistance. A future phase two clinical trial would already be scheduled.

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