366 million

Number of people with diabetes worldwide, up from 285 million in 2009, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Each year, diabetes kills an estimated 4.6 million people, the IDF said, releasing the new figures in advance of an upcoming United Nations summit on non-communicable diseases in New York City. "We don't want world leaders to forget diabetes, which is a tsunami of the 21st century," said IDF president Dr. Jean Claude Mbanya during a press briefing. Mbanya urged world leaders at the Sept. 19 summit to turn their attention to diabetes, which along with other non-communicable diseases — including respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer — are the major causes of death in the world. [via MedPage Today]