Hundreds of people die of diabetes every year in Thuringia. According to figures from the State Statistical Office, the number of deaths in which diabetes mellitus was given as the cause of death ranged between around 1000 and 1200 per year from 2011 to 2020. That was a good three percent of the total annual deaths. According to information from health insurance companies, Thuringia is one of the federal states with the most people suffering from diabetes.
In the case of the metabolic disease, the blood sugar level is increased due to a lack of the hormone insulin. Inadequately treated diabetes can lead to heart attacks, strokes or damage to the kidneys and eyes.
With the AOK plus alone, the largest statutory health insurance company in Thuringia, around 138,000 insured persons fell ill with one of the two types of diabetes last year. Type II diabetes is particularly common – in addition to age, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and obesity are responsible for the lack of insulin. On the other hand, type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas cannot produce insulin due to a malfunction in the immune system.
According to the substitute health insurance association, diabetes affects an average of 15 percent of people in Thuringia. Here, the Free State is in the top third of the federal states, as is the case with diabetes-related hospital admissions. According to official statistics, almost 7,000 people were hospitalized for diabetes in the pre-pandemic year 2019. In 2020, this number fell to around 5,300, although the hospitals had postponed many treatments that could be planned during the corona pandemic or patients were afraid of going to the clinic because of corona.
On World Diabetes Day, which is celebrated annually on November 14, health and insurance companies advertise for more preventive care.
