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LONDON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Almost one-in-10 of all adults aged 16 and over in England have diabetes, data released Tuesday by the Public Health England (PHE) reveals.
The official health watchdog says 3.8 million, around 9 percent of the adult population, have the condition.
The figures have been compiled under a new Diabetes Prevalence Model, produced by PHE's National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network (NCVIN) launched Tuesday at a PHE Conference at Warwick University.
It estimates the total number of adults with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in England.
The PHE in its report said: "Approximately 90 percent of diabetes cases are type 2 and this is largely preventable or manageable by lifestyle changes. The likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes is increased by being overweight, although family history, ethnicity and age can also increase risk."
The model suggests that 1 in 4 people with diabetes, an estimated 940,000, are unaware they have diabetes, a disease that can lead to serious complications including foot amputation and kidney disease, and is associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart attack.
John Newton, chief knowledge officer at the PHE, said: "The number of people with diabetes has been steadily increasing and tackling it is fundamental to the sustainable future of the NHS."
"Diabetes can be an extremely serious disease for those that have it and treating it and its complications costs the NHS almost 10 billion pounds a year (13.3 billion U.S. dollars)," said the officer.
The study shows the proportion of people who have diabetes increases with age: 9 percent of people aged 45 to 54 have diabetes, but for over 75s it is 23.8 percent.
The condition is also more common in men, 9.6 percent compared with 7.6 percent in women, and people from south Asian and black ethnic groups are nearly twice as likely to have the disease compared with people from white, mixed or other ethnic groups.
The PHE says based on current population trends, by 2035 almost 5 million people in England will have diabetes.
Diabetes prevention expert at PHE Jenifer Smith, said: "Whilst the extent of the problem is greater than ever, the good news is that type 2 diabetes is largely preventable."
Chris Askew, CEO of Diabetes UK, said: "These new estimates clearly show the scale of diabetes and the huge impact on people living with the condition. Too often they only find out they have the disease after they have developed serious complications."
