China is ranked second in the world in the incidence of diabetes, with the number of diabetes patient expected to grow from 80 million to 100 million in 2010.

According to a China Youth Daily report, China has 35 million diabetes patients at present, or one fifth of the world total. And the number is increasing at a speed of 3,000 per day.

The report said there will be more diabetes patients in both developed and developing countries, as a result of aging population, improper diet structure, lack of physical exercise and increase of obesity.

The number of diabetes patients around the world has increased from 30 million in 1985 to the current 180 million, and is expected to grow to 366 million in 2025, with 75 percent in developing countries such as India and China.

However, the diagnosis rate of the disease among China's diabetes patients between the age of 35 and 74 is only 23.6 percent, which means that three fourths of the people suffering from diabetes don't known they have the disease.

In addition, the incidence of high blood pressure in China has increased rapidly since the 1980s. It is estimated that 160 million Chinese adults suffered from the disease in 2004, though only 30 percent of them knew it.

Only 24 percent of high blood pressure patients received treatment, and 6 percent have controlled their disease, according to the report.

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2005)