Headlines - Prevalence of pharmacologically treated diabetes (all types) in France in 2015

To mark World Diabetes Day, the thematic BEH report published by Santé publique France presents updated data on the prevalence of pharmacologically treated diabetes in France. In 2015, this prevalence continued to rise, reaching 5% of the French population, or 3.3 million people. Type 1 diabetes, which occurs primarily in children or young adults, accounts for approximately 6% of cases. Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form (approximately 92%), occurs primarily in adults but can also develop as early as adolescence. The prevalence of diabetes is higher among men (male-to-female ratio of 1.5). It increases with age, peaking between ages 80 and 84 among women and between ages 70 and 79 among men (more than one in five men aged 70 to 84 had diabetes in France in 2015). Significant regional disparities are observed, with the highest standardized prevalence rates found in the Hauts-de-France and Grand Est regions, and the lowest standardized prevalence rates observed in Brittany and the Pays de Loire: the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region remains at the national average, but two departments, Yonne and Nièvre, have standardized prevalence rates exceeding the national prevalence by 10 to 20% (Figure). Socioeconomic disparities were also observed. The standardized prevalence of treated diabetes was twice as high among individuals covered by CMU-C as among those not covered. For the same age structure, the prevalence of treated diabetes increased with the territorial index of social disadvantage. A study of these disparities would help identify the subpopulations most at risk, which should be the priority target of primary prevention campaigns aimed at reducing its main modifiable risk factors (overweight and obesity).