Diabetes: mortality data

The figures in the chart are based on deaths data provided by National Records of Scotland and based on year of registration of death. These figures may underestimate the rate of deaths involving diabetes where the cause is not listed on the death certificate.

Males are more likely than females to have diabetes recorded as either an underlying or contributory factor in their cause of death for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Chart 1 shows the death rate in Scotland between 2011/12 and 2023/24 where type 1 diabetes was recorded as the underlying cause of death or was mentioned as a condition contributing to death.

The rate of deaths where type 1 diabetes was recorded as the underlying factor increased overall between 2011 to 2021, despite fluctuations. The greatest year-on-year increases were recorded for males and females for the period between 2021 and 2023. Combining males and females, the rate increased from 2.1 per 100,000 in 2021 to 2.8 in 2023.

Deaths where type 1 was a contributory factor remain highest for males, increasing from 6.5 per 100,000 in 2018 to 10.0 per 100,000 in 2023. For females in the same time period the rate increased from 3.9 to 5.4 per 100,000. It should be noted that the largest year-on-year increase occurred before the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of deaths where type 2 diabetes was recorded as the underlying factor increased from 8.6 per 100,000 in 2011/12 to 16.9 per 100,000 in 2023/24. As with other trends, rates were higher for males, but rates for females also increased. 

The number of deaths where type 2 diabetes was recorded as a contributory factor also increased, rising from 58.3 per 100,000 in 2011/12 to 120.8 in 2023/24, with the rates for males (155.3 per 100,000) again much higher that of females (93.9 per 100,000).

Chart 2 shows the death rate in Scotland between 2011/12 and 2023/24 where type 2 diabetes was recorded as the underlying cause of death or was mentioned as a condition contributing to death.