It has been estimated that 1.3 billion people are expected to be living with lifelong condition diabetes by the year 2050.
Experts have said that cases of the disease are to "grow aggressively" among every age group in every country, reports the Mirror.
By 2050, more than one in eight of the worldwide population will be living with diabetes, a new study predicts.
This number is more than double the 529 million cases currently reported and diagnosed in 2021 globally.
Dr Shivani Agarwal, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said: “Diabetes remains one of the biggest public health threats of our time and is set to grow aggressively over the coming three decades in every country, age group and sex, posing a serious challenge to healthcare systems.”
Earlier in 2023, analysis from Diabetes UK showed that 4.3 million people have been diagnosed with the disease in the UK - and an estimated 850,000 are living with diabetes without a formal diagnosis.
Approximately nine in 10 cases of diabetes in the UK are type two, which is linked to an unhealthy lifestyle.
Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "This important study underlines the sheer scale of the diabetes crisis we’re facing. We know in the UK, type 2 diabetes does not affect everyone equally.
"Your ethnicity, where you live and your income all affect your chances of getting type 2 diabetes, the care you receive and your long-term health, and these are all interlinked.
"The need for concerted cross-government action has never been more urgent."
This new research paper was published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our newsletter
here.
