Increasing Prevalence of Diabetes Will Shape Wound Care Management Market Trends

Published January 13, 2022

A new report from Industry Research, a leading global market research firm, predicts that while there are multiple trends regarding usage of wound care management devices that will affect the market, one trend, in particular, will have an outsize effect on the future of the market. According to the industry report, the increasing prevalence of diabetes globally will shape the future of the wound care management market during the report’s forecast period which extends through 2024.

The report predicts that changes in attitudes in healthcare—like the demand for faster recovery of wounds—and changes in healthcare needs—such as increasing the number of surgeries—will certainly propel market demand for wound care management devices. But what will ultimately be the driving force behind higher demand in the market is the continuing increase in incidences of chronic wounds. And according to the report, diabetes is a leading cause of chronic wounds, along with other chronic diseases.

The information in the new report reaffirms much of what physicians and demographers already know about aging populations, increased life expectancy, and the subsequent increase in age-related diseases. Generally speaking, as advancements are made in medicine and science, life expectancy extends for most individuals within a population. But with a longer life comes an extended time period in which to acquire age-related diseases (like diabetes) and thus more time that individuals live with those diseases, increasing healthcare demands for those types of diseases. Similarly, when people within a population are living longer, there will simply be more aged people than before at any given time, meaning that there are also more people living with chronic diseases related to aging, also increasing demand for healthcare related to those diseases.

Diabetes patients, more so than patients with other chronic diseases, are uniquely susceptible to lower extremity ulcers and amputation. For a person with diabetes, a seemingly innocuous cut or scrape can be very serious, quickly turning into an ulcer or leading to an amputation. This is because, for people with diabetes, the healing process is drastically slower compared to non-diabetics. Wound healing processes within the body depend largely on blood sugar levels, and people with diabetes produce little to no insulin—the hormone that helps the body process sugar—naturally, leaving diabetics prone to having higher blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, high blood sugar slows down the wound healing process by preventing nutrients and oxygen from energizing cells, preventing the immune system from functioning efficiently, and increasing inflammation in the body’s cells.

According to the new report, these types of chronic wounds associated with diabetes are on the rise. The number of diabetic foot ulcers is climbing, and between 14 and 24% of diabetic patients who develop a foot ulcer will then go on to amputation surgery. All in all, people with diabetes are about 10 times more likely than non-diabetics to undergo limb amputation at some point in their adult lives.

When one considers how large the population of people with diabetes is in the United States, the uptick in diabetes-related wounds makes clear just how significant these increases are with regards to the future of wound care management devices. According to the American Diabetes Association, about 35 million Americans are diabetic, roughly 10% of the population. Crucially, only about 1.5 million of those 35 million Americans have Type I Diabetes, the type thought to be caused by an autoimmune disorder and is generally diagnosed in childhood. This means that about 90-95% of Americans with diabetes have Type II, the type that can present in younger populations but typically comes with age and is typically diagnosed later in life. In fact, around 30% of Americans over age 65 are diabetic, about 15 million total. And about 1.5 million new cases are diagnosed each year. As life expectancy extends, the number of new cases can be expected to rise.

The report singles out North America as a dominant market for the future of wound care management devices precisely because of the region’s aging population and the subsequent increase in incidences of chronic wounds related to diabetes, combined with favorable insurance reimbursement policies.

 

PDF Remediation Software - Free Online Event!

Join us on Tuesday, April 9th, at 1 PM ET for a free online event to explore how to evaluate and select PDF remediation software for your business. Click here to learn more about this event and to register.

Click here to see our Events Calendar.

Accessibility.com's 2024 events will utilize the Zoom Events platform, offering a virtual expo hall for attendees to meet with prospective vendors. If your company is interested in being part of the expo hall, don't hesitate to get in touch with Amanda@Accessibility.com.

Vendor Directory

Accessibility.com offers the premier impartial listing of digital accessibility vendors.  Search for products and services by category, subcategory, or company name.  Check out our new Vendor Directory here.

Comments