Ireland is facing a ‘tsunami’ of diabetes cases with figures showing one-in-10 people around the world will have the condition by 2050.

Last year, some 10% of the HSE’s budget went towards diabetes care and based on projections from The Lancet, that figure is set to skyrocket in coming decades.

According to a recent report in the medical journal, there will be more than a billion diabetic people across the world by 2050, meaning one-in-10 will have the disease as the population grows.

“We used to call it the middle-aged disease,” Dr Eva Orsmond told The Pat Kenny Show. “Now it’s younger and younger... we are putting more and more weight on the middle.” 

Diabetes is a “silent” disease, according to Dr Orsmond, typically taking seven years to diagnose. 

“You’re already silently creating the damage,” she said. “Type 2 diabetes affects every single part of the body because the higher sugar readings are damaging – silently, without you knowing – your neurological system, your cardiovascular. 

“Many people find out they are diabetic after they wake up in ICU after a heart attack.” 

'Phenomenally prevalent'

HSE National Clinical Lead for Diabetes Professor Derek O’Keefe said diabetes will become “phenomenally prevalent in our society”. 

Last year, some €1.6 billion of last year’s HSE budget went towards research and treatment of diabetes.

"10% of a 16 billion budget is a significant amount,” Prof O’Keefe said. “[But] if that number [of cases] jumps from 6%, which is the current prevalence, to 15% - 20%, which is what The Lancet projected, that budget would need to triple.” 

'We can all see the horizon'

In preparation for the increases in cases, Prof O’Keefe said the HSE and the Government are introducing increased measures to prevent and treat diabetes. 

“We can all see the horizon of what’s coming with diabetes, both here in Ireland and globally,” he said. 

“We have actual diabetes prevention programmes to intervene when people have pre-diabetes to prevent its progress. 

“There's better and better medications coming out to keep people’s blood sugar on the right target.” 

Proposed enhanced community care hub in Enniscorthy.

The HSE are also due to introduce “enhanced community care” schemes through which there will a hub specialising in heart disease, diabetes and pulmonary disease for every 150,000 people. 

“You will have an endocrinologist consultant specialising in diabetes, clinical nurse specialising in diabetes, podiatrist in diabetes, and you’ll dieticians in diabetes all working together,” Prof O’Keefe said. 

The introduction of ECC hubs began in January of this year, and the HSE hope to have 25 hubs introduced by 2025. 

“That’s a remarkable investment and strategic forward thinking by the Government to try and ameliorate the tsunami that’s coming over the next 30 years,” Prof O’Keefe said.