Manama: A major report looking at the prevalence of type 2 diabetes will warn that cases in people aged 20-39, currently at nearly 63 million globally, are set to rise by 19 per cent to nearly 75 million if measures are not urgently taken to stem the tide of the disease.

This equates to around 12 million new cases in those aged 20-39 by 2035.

Diagnoses of type 2 in children, which used to be rare, are increasing. In some countries, type 2 diabetes now accounts for almost half of new cases in children and adolescents.

The report warns that the health consequences of the condition, which include heart disease, stroke, diabetic retinopathy, kidney disease and lower limb amputations, are more severe than generally recognised, and calls on policymakers around the world to act to prevent rising rates.

It is estimated that up to 80 per cent of cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented through changing diet, increasing physical activity and improving the living environment.

Type 2 diabetes rates are also increasing throughout the world’s adult population and experts warn that it is set to affect nearly 600 million people by 2035 (equating to around 10 per cent of the world’s adult population), at a projected cost of $627 billion (Dh2.3 trillion) globally.

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), between 2013 and 2035, the countries with the highest growth in diabetes prevalence will be the UAE, Oman and Qatar. Rates in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) as a whole will increase by 96.2 per cent by 2035.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait already feature on the IDF’s top 10 list of countries with the largest comparative prevalence rates from 2014.

The findings of the report will be presented in full at the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), to be attended by more than 1,000 health policymakers and specialists from around the world, in the Qatari capital Doha on February 17-18.

“Type 2 diabetes is fast becoming a worldwide epidemic and it is extremely worrying that we are starting to see it increasing in younger generations,” Diabetes Forum Chair Professor Stephen Colagiuri, Professor of Metabolic Health at the University of Sydney, Australia, said, ahead of the summit. “Our report will aim to equip policymakers with the information they need to assess the health and cost impacts of the disease, learn from interventions that work, and ultimately put in place measures to help stem the tide of diabetes. It is vital that policymakers act to put interventions in place for the sake of current and future generations.”

Professor The Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair of WISH and Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College of London, said: “Combatting rising rates of type 2 diabetes should be a worldwide priority. Often the impact of diabetes, alongside other chronic conditions, is underestimated, but the findings of this report will highlight to both policymakers and the public the true scale of the problem we are facing.”

“We must act now to prevent the disease before it becomes unmanageable for future generations. I am delighted that the report by Professor Stephen Colagiuri and his colleagues will set out practical steps for combating the disease at the upcoming World Innovation Summit for Health and I hope their recommendations will be heeded.”