Incidence of insulin-treated diabetes in Australia

Diabetes is a chronic condition marked by high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. This is caused by the body being unable to produce insulin (a hormone made by the pancreas to control blood glucose levels) or to use insulin effectively, or both.

An estimated 1 in 20 (4.9% or 1.2 million) Australians had diabetes in 2017–18, based on self-reported data (ABS 2019).

All people with type 1 diabetes, and some with type 2, gestational or other forms of diabetes will require insulin replacement therapy to manage their condition.

The fact sheet and supplementary data tables presents the latest available data on new cases of insulin-treated diabetes, with a focus on type 1 diabetes and insulin-treated type 2 diabetes, in Australia. Data are from the 2020 National (insulin-treated) Diabetes Register (NDR).

Reference

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2019. Microdata: National Health Survey, 2017–18. ABS cat. no. 4324.0.55.001. Findings based on detailed microdata file analysis. Canberra: ABS.