The number of Belgians being treated for diabetes continues to rise increasingly quickly. Around one in 14 people in Belgium have been diagnosed with diabetes.
In 2009, approximately 5% of Belgians were diagnosed with diabetes. In 2021, reports of record levels of 6.8% being reached sounded the alarm, but that number has now risen further to 7.1%, an increase of more than 5%, the biggest annual increase ever. Since 2009, this marks an almost 40% increase.
Around 810,000 people, or one in 14 Belgian citizens, had been diagnosed with the condition by 2022, according to recent figures from the Inter-mutual Agency (IMA), analysed by De Tijd.
The chronic illness is caused by an impaired production of insulin or a reduced sensitivity to it. Patients are therefore required to continuously monitor their blood sugar levels to prevent an extreme sugar-level imbalance thereby mitigating risks of fatigue, vision problems, and the slow healing of wounds.
Underestimation of situation
Health experts at the IMA emphasised that these figures are likely an underestimation, as approximately one in three Belgians are unaware of their diabetes condition. The existing data only includes patients taking medication or accessing specific care, excluding women with pregnancy-induced diabetes, which is common.
There are regional differences. In Wallonia, the number of people with diabetes per 100 residents is significantly higher than in other regions. While Flanders and Brussels report 6.4 and 6.3 diabetics per 100 residents, respectively, in Wallonia this figure is 8.6.
The rapid ageing of the population in Flanders accounts for a greater increase in diabetes cases in recent years, as the illness more commonly affects older people: one in five people aged over 75 is a diabetic.
Socio-economic status and gender also impact the prevalence of diabetes. Lower-income populations see almost double the incidence of diabetes compared to Belgians with higher incomes. Meanwhile, men also receive diagnoses more often than women, particularly in older age. Among men, the number of diagnoses is also increasing faster.
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The increase in the number of diagnoses and treatments also weighs increasingly on social security. The Belgian Diabetes Forum estimated the related health costs in 2018 at over €5.8 billion. The bulk of this budget went to treating complications while 6% of the budget served to reimburse specific drugs.
The rise in type 2 diabetes is mainly linked to lifestyle habits such as obesity, unhealthy diet, smoking and lack of exercise. There is also a rise in type 1 diabetes cases – often diagnosed in younger people due to an auto-immune disease – but the precise cause for this is yet unknown. The IMA suggested that improved screening along with heightened awareness might explain the escalating diabetes figures.
Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) is investing €6.3 million in a new plan to provide good, accessible and affordable counselling for everyone with diabetes, and the group of patients who were fully reimbursed for an expensive glucose sensor was expanded last summer.
