PREVALENCE OF DIABETES

CHANGES OVER TIME

The rate of diabetes in Australia has shown a steady increase from 2.4% in 1995 to 3.8% in 2007–08 (Graph 1).




This rise could reflect greater awareness in the community of the symptoms and consequences of diabetes (leading to increased check-ups and diagnoses); and more people surviving diabetes due to improved medical interventions, as well as an actual increase in cases.

Much of the rise was due to an increase in Type 2 diabetes, from 1.1% in 1995 to 3.3% in 2007-08.

The rise in Type 2 diabetes over this time may be partly due to people finding out that the type of diabetes they had was Type 2 diabetes, as the number of people whose type of diabetes was unknown decreased from 150,000 in 1995 (0.8% of the population) to 17,000 in 2007-08 (0.1% of the population). The proportion of people with Type 1 diabetes remained relatively stable over this period.

TYPE OF DIABETES

In 2007-08, the majority of people with diabetes reported they had Type 2 diabetes (88% or 721,000 people). A further 10% (82,000 people) reported they had Type 1 diabetes, while 2% of people with diabetes did not know which type of diabetes they had.

Around 77% of people with Type 2 diabetes were aged 45 years and over when they were first diagnosed, compared with 16% of people with Type 1 diabetes. Just under a quarter (23%) of people with Type 1 diabetes were diagnosed in childhood (under 15 years), and a further 24% in early adulthood (15 to 24 years).