How Is Rising Diabetes Prevalence Impacting Wound Care Market?

The major factors driving the growth of the wound care market around the world are the booming population of the elderly, rising number of cases of diabetes, burns, and physical trauma, surging volume of surgeries, and increasing incidence of chronic wounds. The sale of these products generated revenue of $20,368.2 million in 2020, which is projected to observe a 5.5% CAGR between 2021 and 2030 (forecast period), to reach $34,459.2 million by 2030.

The categories when the wound care market is segmented on the basis of product type are wound closure, traditional, and advanced. Among these, the largest share during the historical period (2014–2020) was held by the advanced category. This was because advanced wound care products quicken up the wound healing process, maintain proper oxygen flow and temperature on and around the injured tissue, offer infection protection, remove deceased tissue, thus allowing for new cell formation, and lead to lesser pain while changing the dressing.

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), surgical & traumatic wound, pressure ulcer, venous leg ulcer (VLU), and burn are the divisions of the wound type segment. The DFU category is set to witness the highest CAGR in the wound care market during the forecast period because of the increasing diabetes prevalence. DFUs, a common complication of diabetes, generally occur on the bottom of the foot. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), people who take insulin and those with diabetes-related eye, heart, and kidney diseases are at a higher risk of DFUs.

Thus, the biggest driver for the wound care market is the increasing hold of diabetes on the population. As per the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 463 million people aged 20 to 79 had this endocrine disorder in 2019, and this population will cross the 700-million market by 2045. The treatment of DFUs requires frequent changes of dressings containing calcium alginates, as inhibiting bacterial growth is important here. The diabetes incidence is rising because of the growing obese population and adoption of a sedentary lifestyle, which are often the cases in cities.

Another key reason for the surging demand for wound care products is the increasing number of surgeries. These procedures are performed for the treatment of diseases, repairing injured tissue and skin, and aesthetic purposes. Hence, with the rising prevalence of heart diseases, cancer, and other chronic and acute diseases, the surgery volume is growing. Similarly, the escalating number of burns and injuries are propelling the surgery volume. As such procedures include cutting into the skin and tissues, they lead to nasty scars and wounds, which is essentially driving the market.

In this regard, the increasing appearance consciousness is also acting as a key factor for the wound care market advance. This is because this factor is leading to the rising volume of aesthetic surgeries, which, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), numbered 11,363,569 in 2019. Among them, the most popular were breast augmentation, breast lift, abdominoplasty, and correction of gynecomastia. Major surgeries, all of them lead to post-surgical scars, and considering the rising appearance consciousness (the main reason behind these surgeries), the demand for wound care products is rising.

The wound care market is presently dominated by North America, which accounts for a high healthcare spending, advanced medical infrastructure, presence of major market players, favorable reimbursement scenario, and heavy investments in research and development (R&D). During the forecast period, Asia-Pacific (APAC) will grow the most rapidly in the market due to its huge unmet need for wound care products. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), most of the burn-related injuries and deaths occur in developing countries, many of which are in APAC.

Thus, the market will continue booming with the rising surgery volume and diabetes burden.