A recent investigation by the International Diabetes Federation shows that, although 75 percent of adults in Spain who are most likely to develop type 2 diabetes consider that it is worth undergoing a screening test, only 15 percent believe it is likely that they will end up having the disease.
The work of the International Diabetes Federation (FID) was carried out with a sample of 351 adults in Spain, as part of an international study in six countries. Almost half (46%) mistakenly thought that people with prediabetes— a situation in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but have not yet reached the diagnostic threshold for type 2 diabetes—usually present clear symptoms, while another 35 percent said they did not have information about it.
Likewise, 46 percent said they would not be able to manage a diabetes risk assessment test on their own. Difficulty in getting an appointment with the family doctor or at the health center (22%) was cited as the main obstacle, followed by fear of knowing the results (20%) and not perceiving themselves to be at risk (17%).
Diabetes is also not generally perceived as a major threat: only 18 percent rated type 2 diabetes as very or extremely serious, the lowest percentage among the six countries analyzed, while 40 percent considered it barely serious.
"Too many people in Spain see type 2 diabetes as a minor disease, and that is part of the problem. Fewer than one in five people surveyed considers it very or extremely serious, and only half feels that they know enough to judge their own risk," Luis Castaño, professor of Pediatrics at Hospital Universitario Cruces, Bilbao, has said.
65% of adults with diabetes in Spain already have a diagnosis
The landscape of diabetes diagnosis in Spain of the International Diabetes Federation, prepared from data from the 11th edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas, indicates that 65 percent of adults with diabetes in Spain have a confirmed diagnosis, below the global target of the World Health Organization (WHO), which aims to reach 80 percent by 2030. To achieve that goal, around 720,000 additional diagnoses would be needed, which amounts to roughly 480 new diagnoses per day through the end of 2030.
Health spending associated with diabetes in Spain stood at US$13.1 billion in 2024. Specialists point out that a substantial portion of this outlay is used to treat serious complications arising from the disease, such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, loss of vision, or lower-limb amputations. In this context, experts emphasize that a screening test costs far less than addressing these advanced complications.
"About 250 million people worldwide live with diabetes without knowing it. Our research shows that people at risk know that diabetes is a problem. They simply don't believe it will affect them. Awareness of diabetes is not the same as knowing one's own risk," Peter Schwarz, president of the International Diabetes Federation, has indicated.
"We will not be able to close the diagnostic gap if the people who need to get tested the most are unaware of their own risk factors," he added.