Cleveland Clinic Doctor Exposes Shocking Diabetes Truth That Nearly Half of Diabetics Go Undiagnosed

CLEVELAND 13 (WCTU) — Nearly half of all people with diabetes worldwide remain unaware they have the disease, according to a comprehensive new study published in The Lancet. The analysis, which assessed data from 2000 to 2023 across 204 countries, found that only 55.8% of individuals aged 15 and older with diabetes had been diagnosed as of 2023.

The research, led by Lauryn K. Stafford and colleagues from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study to model the global "cascade of care" for diabetes, which includes diagnosis, treatment, and achieving optimal glycaemic control. Among those diagnosed, 91.4% received treatment. However, only 41.6% of those treated had optimal blood sugar levels, meaning just 21.2% of all people with diabetes were effectively managing their condition.

Doctors at Cleveland Clinic say the study's findings reflect a troubling trend seen in clinical practice. “If you have heart disease, you can tell that, okay, I have chest pain, I need to go to the doctor,” said Dr. Peminda Cabandugama, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic. “By the time people are diagnosed with diabetes, they have actually progressed to the point where they've already started, you know, feeling thirsty or peeing all the time. And so, because it's not one of those conditions that cause pain until you have progressed so far, I think this is a very common thing that we have noticed also as practitioners.”

The study found wide regional disparities. High-income North America had the highest diagnosis rates, while high-income Asia Pacific led in treatment rates. Southern Latin America showed the highest proportion of treated patients achieving optimal blood sugar levels. From 2000 to 2023, global diagnosis rates improved by 8.3 percentage points, and treatment among the diagnosed rose by 7.2 points. Yet, optimal glycaemic control only saw a marginal gain of 1.3 points.

Dr. Cabandugama noted that many undiagnosed cases could be linked to the lack of routine annual checkups. “During those visits, a physician would typically order a blood test to check your blood sugar levels. And without testing, a diagnosis cannot be made,” he said. He added that the same issues arise with prediabetes, where early intervention could prevent progression to full-blown diabetes.

“The problem with diabetes is it's a chronic disease. It has a lot of effects that it can have long term. So you can lose your vision, your kidneys can fail, obviously you can get things like heart attacks. So that's the reason why you want to get diagnosed early and treated early,” Cabandugama said.

Researchers emphasized that low-income and middle-income countries face the greatest challenges in improving diagnosis and management. Strengthening healthcare infrastructure and increasing access to routine screenings were identified as key steps to reversing the growing global diabetes burden.

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