One in seven Koreans over 30 have diabetes but their disease recognition rate and treatment rate continue to stay at a low level, according to an academic group’s fact sheet. 

The prevalence of diabetes among Koreans over 30 years old stands at 13.8 percent this year, as 4.94 million people have the disease. The number almost doubles to reach 9.48 million, or 26.9 percent of the total population, when people with fasting blood sugar disorder are included.

These and other findings were contained in the “Diabetes Fact Sheet in Korea 2020” released by the Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) recently.

The prevalence rose in both men and women as they get older. The rate surpassed 10 percent among men in their 40s, and women in their 50s. Among people older than 70, 28.8 percent of men and 29.4 percent of women have diabetes.

Although the number of diabetics is steadily increasing each year, the share of people recognizing their disease and receiving treatment remained low. About six or seven of 10 diabetic patients were aware of their illness, and six out of 10 were receiving treatment.

The primary goal of managing diabetes is to prevent complications. Patients often accompany obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia, but only 11.5 percent of them manage the disease appropriately.

Cardiovascular disease, known as a macrovascular complication of diabetes, is the most common cause of death in diabetic patients. Diabetes can also cause diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, microvascular complications of diabetic neuropathy.

Among people with diabetes, 53.2 percent were obese with 11.7 percent having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, and 54 percent, abdominal obesity.

Besides obesity, 61.3 percent of diabetic patients also have hypertension, and only 54.4 percent controlling their blood pressure meet the goal.

About 72 percent of diabetic patients record more than 100 milligrams per deciliter of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood, and only 53.3 percent have below 100 milligrams per deciliter. The share of patients with both hypertension and hypercholesterolemia reach 43.7 percent of total patients.

Diabetic patients usually should not eat excessive amounts of carbohydrates to manage their blood sugar levels. However, their carbohydrate intake accounted for 68.3 percent of the total consumption, 3.6 percentage points higher than healthy people.

In contrast, their protein intake rate remained at 14.5 percent, lower than the 15.2 percent of the healthy population. Diabetes patients also consumed a lower amount of fat than those without diabetes, at a ratio of 17.1 percent vs. 20.1 percent.

Most diabetic patients are diagnosed with the illness after going through preliminary stages. However, most of them do not experience symptoms in the early stages and find it through blood sugar level tests.

KDA emphasized that losing weight is the most significant way to treat prediabetes. The association also recommends refraining from binge drinking and smoking as well as reducing the amount of meals and restricting foods rich with fat and sugar.