In type 2 diabetes, there is a combination of inadequate production of insulin and an inability of the body to respond fully to insulin (insulin resistance). It is primarily influenced by lifestyle factors such as being overweight, poor diet, lack of physical activity, and excessive alcohol consumption.
The association between coffee/caffeine consumption and diabetes is specific to type 2 diabetes only. For more information on the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, please refer to the media facts and figures section.
Facts and figures
Europe has one of the highest prevalences of diabetes as about 60 million people have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, or about 10.3% of men and 9.6% of women aged 25 years and over¹. It is estimated that this figure will reach 71 million by 20402.
In Europe, diabetes (types 1 and 2 collectively) caused 627,000 deaths in 2015: about one quarter (26.3%) of those deaths were in people under the age of 60. Estimates indicate that diabetes was responsible for 9% of total health expenditure in Europe in 2015, equivalent to USD 156 billion1.
Age is an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes. In the Europe Region, 30.8% of the general population were aged between 50 and 79 in 2015 and this percentage is expected to increase to 35.6% by 20401.
Once a disease of old age, diabetes is now increasingly affecting adolescents and children and the highest increase is in the 30-40 year-old age group3.
The twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes already represent the biggest public health challenge of the 21st century. It is estimated that at least half of all diabetes cases would be eliminated if weight gain in adults could be prevented4.
For more information, see also: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/diabetes/data-and-statistics