UAE's Ministry of Health reveal up to 75 per cent of the nation's population could end up being affected by diabetes and treatment of the disease currently takes up 40 per cent of the country's annual healthcare budget.

Dr Mariam Mattar, the Undersecretary for Primary Healthcare at the UAE's Ministry of Health, has disclosed that up to 75 per cent of the nation's population could end up being affected by diabetes, reported Gulf News. Treatment of the disease currently takes up 40 per cent of the country's annual healthcare budget and Mattar predicted that a further 680,000 people will be diagnosed with the condition in the next 20 years.

"The seriousness of the disease can now be equally comparable to the killer disease HIV," she was quoted as saying.

On his part, Dr Oliver Harrison, Head of Public Health at the authority, provided more details on the prevalence of disease. "A recent research conducted in Al Ain showed that 2,455 adults between the ages of 30 and 65 have metabolic syndromes, of which 15 per cent have been diagnosed with diabetes. Fourteen per cent have diabetes and are unaware of it and 24 per cent stand as high risk and are prone to the disease. That means a total of 57 per cent either have diabetes or stand a risk in getting it," said Harrison.