Hypertension & diabetes on the rise : UN report

May 17, 2012: The number of people with high blood pressure and diabetes is drastically increasing in both developed and developing countries, according to a United Nations report released on Wednesday. “This report is further evidence of the dramatic increase in the conditions that trigger heart disease and other chronic illnesses, particularly in low- and middle-income countries,” said the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan. “In some African countries, as much as half the adult population has high blood pressure.”

WHO’s World Health Statistics 2012 report, which includes data from 194 countries, states that one in three adults worldwide has raised blood pressure and one in 10 suffers from diabetes.

Concern about the rise in the numbers of deaths from heart and lung disease, diabetes and cancer prompted the UN to hold a high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases in New York in September last year. Next week, the World Health Assembly – the decision-making body of WHO – will be held in Geneva. It is expected to review progress made since its last meeting and agree on next steps.