The data from the second largest German health insurance company is available to the Editorial Network Germany (RND). There has been an increase of a total of 800,000 people affected since 2013. Nationwide, the proportion of diabetics in the total population has increased from 8.0 to 8.65 percent over the past ten years.
When it comes to age groups, the Barmer data shows high and increasing rates of affected people, especially for older people. Among 70 to 79 year olds there was an increase from 24.5 to 25.9 percent between 2013 and 2022. For those aged 80 to 89, the rate changed from 27.1 to 29.0 percent in the same decade. However, the greatest rate of increase within ten years was in the group of 40 to 49 year olds. There the share rose from 3.4 to 3.9 percent. This corresponds to an increase of almost 15 percent.
“Germany doesn’t seem to be able to get diabetes under control,” said Kassen boss Christoph Straub to the RND. The national diabetes strategy must finally be given more importance, he demanded. According to the figures, there are strong regional differences in the incidence of adult-onset diabetes. The furthest below the national average of 8.65 percent is Hamburg with 6.1 percent. In contrast, diabetes occurs more often than average in the eastern German states. Saxony-Anhalt is most affected. Here, type 2 diabetes mellitus was diagnosed in 13.4 percent of the population.