OMA (ITALPRESS) – In Italy about 3.8 million people live with diabetes, 6.4 percent of the total population and 7.5 percent of the adult population. More than 90 percent of cases concern type 2 diabetes. It is a photograph that emerges from the Italian Barometer Diabetes Report 2026, elaborated by researchers of Ibdo Foundation, Istat, Coresearch, BHAVE Health Ecosystem Institute, Observatory on Common Health and Planetary Health Inner Circle, presented during an event in the Senate, at the initiative of Senator Daniela Sbrollini, in collaboration with Intergroup parliamentary obesity, diabetes and chronic nontransmissible diseases and University of Rome Torgata.
The report, which reached its 19th edition, shows a constant growth of prevalence: from 4.2 percent of 2005 to 5.4 percent of 2015, up to 6.4 percent of 2025. The increase is 52 percent in raw terms and remains significant also net of ageing of the population, with an increase of 23 percent. The data, moreover, may not intercept all people who have not yet received a diagnosis: in Italy it is estimated, in fact, that more than one million people live with the disease without knowing it.
“Diabetics, we know, is today one of the most widespread chronic diseases in Italy”, emphasizes in its preface the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci. “It’s a silent disease, but it has a profound impact on patient life and the sustainability of the National Health Service. Like all non-transmissible chronic diseases, diabetes also requires policies capable of promoting health and countering the main factors of changeable risk with an integrated and attentive approach to different contexts and different stages of life.”.
Diabetes, therefore, confirms itself as one of the main challenges of public health, in the light of its growing spread and close correlation with numerous other chronic diseases. A condition that significantly affects the quality of life of people and requires adequate responses to clinical complexity and welfare needs throughout the treatment path.
Diabetes is not an isolated condition. After 45 years, it is more frequently associated with many chronic diseases. Particularly relevant is the relationship with cardiovascular risk. Cardiovascular diseases, in our country, affect more than 9 million people, cause about 206,000 deaths each year and cause an estimated annual economic burden of 42 billion euros. Among people with diabetes followed by diabetic centers, 15.2 percent already has a history of cardiovascular disease; moreover, over one person on two reports a diagnosis of hypertension. The control of blood sugar, blood pressure, lipids, body weight and smoke must therefore be inserted in a coordinated path between professionals and services.
“Diabetology is going through a profound evolution. Glycemia control remains fundamental, but today the goal is broader: to prevent complications, protect organs and manage the cardiovascular, renal and metabolic risk in the long term,” says Paolo Sbraccia, President of Ibdo Foundation. “Scientific evidence shows that therapeutic innovation can offer significant benefits beyond glycemic control, helping to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, strokes, kidney complications and peripheral arteriopathy progression, as well as improve functional capacity. It is therefore essential to promote an increasingly integrated therapeutic approach, oriented to cardio-renal protection and to the concrete improvement of the quality of life of people with diabetes.”.
In this scenario, therapeutic, organizational and digital innovation takes on a strategic importance. The goal is not only to improve clinical outcomes, but to prevent complications, support the overall well-being of the person and promote a better and more lasting quality of life. This requires a truly integrated charging model, in which diabetology, general medicine, cardiology, nephrology and territorial assistance share goals, paths and follow-ups. Such an approach can help reduce the fragmentation of assistance and more early intercept risk factors and reduce complications.
“In the prevention of diabetes, and obesity, a stronger and more organic cardiovascular prevention strategy must be supported. Diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases are closely related conditions: addressing them through separate paths means risking fragmentation of taking into account and losing prevention opportunities. The cardiometabolic dimension must become a structural component of health policies. This is the direction necessary to protect people’s health and to make the response of the National Health Service more effective,” says Daniela Sbrollini, co-President of the Parliamentary Intergroup Obesity and Diabetes and chronic non-transmissible diseases.
The report also confirms the existence of marked geographical and social inequalities. Among people aged 45 or over, the national average prevalence is 10.3 percent, but rises to 12.9 percent in the Mezzogiorno, compared to 8.7 percent in the North and 9.7 percent in the Center. Diabetes also affects the most disadvantaged social groups. In the 45-64 years, the prevalence is 5.9 percent among people with low degrees of study, against 3.7 percent among those who own at least one diploma. Between over 65, the values are 21.8 percent and 15.8 percent respectively.
Finally, the management of diabetes still encounters important obstacles in the organization of assistance. According to the Diabetes Monitor 2026 research, conducted for the Ibdo Report, 48 percent of respondents indicate waiting times and lists among the main barriers, while 43 percent report organizational difficulties. In the light of the evidence collected, the report recalls the need to transform data into choices of health policy and organization of services, in order to render effective the rights of people with diabetes, to foster appropriate access to therapeutic and technological innovation and to build a grip capable of responding to the complexity of the disease.
“In the face of the growing spread of diabetes and the complexity of chronicity, it is the responsibility of institutions to continue to promote research and innovation, recognizing its value for public health. To welcome and make practically accessible therapeutic and welfare innovations means strengthening the ability of the National Health Service to prevent complications, reduce inequalities and ensure appropriate responses throughout the treatment path. It is a strategic choice to protect the quality of life of people and ensure the sustainability and equity of the system”: commented Roberto Pella, co-President of the Parliamentary Intergroup Obesity and Diabetes and chronic diseases not transmissible.
– Photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
