Epidemiology of diabetes in Poland in 2014–2017

Background. The number of people with diabetes increases every year, both in Poland and worldwide. In Poland, the exact number is not known, and the latest data comes from 2014. The aim of the study was to assess basic epidemiological indicators regarding diabetes in Poland in 2014–2017. Methods. Division into types of diabetes and other analyzes was carried out on the basis of data prepared by a team of experts and employees of the Department of Analysis and Strategy of the Ministry of Health. The NHF databases were used, concerning realized medical interventions and refunded prescriptions. Results. The number of people with diabetes in Poland in 2014 was 2.113 million (1.167 million women and 0.946 million men). This number increased in subsequent years and in 2017 amounted to 2.533 million (1.408 million women and 1.124 million men), which constituted 6.58% of the population. Using the adopted methodology, the number of patients in whom the type of diabetes could not be determined was large and ranged from 39.57% to 32.75% in individual years. Conclusions. Diabetes prevalence in Poland is increasing. The adopted methodological assumptions regarding the division criteria for type 2 and type 1 diabetes do not allow an accurate determination of the epidemiology of diabetes by type (incidence rate and morbidity), but they allow to determine “specific” subpopulations of patients with a given type of disease.