About 3.8 million people in Italy live with diabetes, and over 1 million do not know

Italy's diagnosis gap

The Italian Barometer Diabetes Report 2026 puts the number of people living with diabetes in Italy at about 3.8 million, or 6.4% of the population, and says more than one million of them do not know they have the disease. Sole 24 ORE, citing the same data, gives 7.5% of adults and says prevalence has risen 23% over the past twenty years, after adjusting for population ageing. Il Messaggero compares the national share with 2.9% in 1980. Sole 24 ORE puts type 1 at around 300,000 people in Italy, while the specialist Tgcom24 interviewed says type 2 accounts for over 90% of diagnoses.

Living with diabetes3.8

Unaware (over 1 million)1

Living with diabetes

3.8 million people

Unaware (over 1 million)

1 million people

Data from the article text

Globally, Tgcom24 cites the World Health Organization's figure of 830 million people with diabetes, more than 40% of them without a diagnosis. Sole 24 ORE reports 589 million adults worldwide with the disease, of whom 252 million are unaware they have it.

Early detection and warning signs

Marco Missaglia, a physician and surgeon specialised in food science and experimental endocrinology, explains the basic mechanism of the disease.

“Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease in which the body can no longer correctly regulate blood sugar levels.”

Classic symptoms such as intense thirst, frequent urination and blurred vision appear only once blood sugar is already badly out of control, he warns. Fasting values stably above 100 mg/dL indicate impaired glycaemia, and readings above 126 mg/dL fall in the diagnostic range. Left untreated, the disease can damage the heart, arteries, kidneys, retina and peripheral nerves.

In type 1 diabetes, the focus has moved to the period before symptoms. Autoantibodies can be present in the blood well before symptoms appear, and detecting them early still helps prevent diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious complication that still affects 20% to 50% of onsets. The SIRENA registry, the first national one, is run by the Italian Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology together with SID and AMD, and its protocol was published in BMJ Open. Forty centres will follow adults and children who test positive for autoantibodies but have no symptoms, for up to 10 years, with checks every three to six months. The coordinator, Valentino Cherubini, explained the aim:

“Thanks to the registry, those who have already tested positive will not be left alone.”

Drugs, obesity and off-label use

Semaglutide is authorised for obesity as well as diabetes, and its use has surged. Prescriptions have grown 85.7% in one year, alongside what the Associazione medici endocrinologi describes as prescriptions outside approved indications, sales on the illegal market through websites and social media, and prescriptions passed on to other people, often relatives. Marco Chianelli, an endocrinology physician at the Regina Apostolorum hospital in Albano Laziale, said doctors must distinguish people with a health problem from those who simply want to lose a few kilos. Some patients start with high doses to lose weight faster, which can cause gastrointestinal effects, including vomiting, diarrhoea and severe dehydration.

New research and treatment goals

The San Raffaele hospital in Rome will start a clinical study of eloralintide, an experimental molecule that acts on amylin receptors, a hormone involved in appetite. The approach differs from GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide. The trial will enrol adults with diabetes who are overweight and have high cardiovascular risk, meaning they have had a heart attack or show coronary or carotid atherosclerosis. Massimiliano Caprio, a full professor of endocrinology at San Raffaele University in Rome, described how the goals of treatment have changed.

“Today the main goal of treatment is to prevent organ damage.”

Caprio added that high blood glucose is central but is only one aspect of the disease.

Prevention and the Diab&Te campaign

The Fesdi federation of diabetes societies presented the Diab&Te campaign ahead of World Diabetes Day on 14 November, together with the diabetologists' associations AMD and SID. It was discussed at a meeting with the parliamentary intergroup on obesity, diabetes and chronic non-communicable diseases, convened at the initiative of senator Daniela Sbrollini. The campaign organises its message around five themes: territory, test, time, therapy and technology. The International Diabetes Federation has chosen Early Action on Diabetes as its slogan for 2026 and 2027. Prevention advice across the coverage centres on fibre-rich food, fewer simple sugars and refined flour, regular physical activity and not smoking.