World Diabetes Day, marked on 14 November, aims to raise awareness of this disease for which as many as 40 per cent of people in Croatia do not even know that they have it, and since late detection can lead to chronic complications doctors stress the importance of preventive checkups and a healthy lifestyle.

In Croatia, there are over 330,000 registered diabetes patients who receive therapy, and it is estimated that their total number exceeds 500,000 because around 40 per cent of people do not now that they have it, says Dario Rahelic, head of the Croatian Diabetes Society.

A 2016 study of healthcare costs shows that around 20 per cent of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) budget went towards diabetes treatment alone, with the costs of the treatment of chronic complications accounting for 88 per cent.

Until last year, diabetes had been the leading cause of death in Croatia, after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but last year it was overtaken by COVID-19 as the number one killer disease.

Obesity is one of the main risk factors for the onset of type 2 diabetes. The other factors include an unhealthy diet, a sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity, stress, and genetic predisposition.

Rahelic noted that despite the fact that diabetes patients in Croatia have access to all the medicines and technologies that are available in the world, many of them fail to regulate their disease.

World Diabetes Day is marked by patient associations and healthcare institutions across Croatia with blood sugar measurement campaigns, advisory services, as well as vaccination against respiratory diseases.