Diabetes and hypertension cases ‘on the rise worldwide’

Cases of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes are on the rise internationally, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The body's latest world health statistics report has shown that one in three adults worldwide has raised blood pressure, a condition that accounts for half of all deaths from stroke and heart disease.

In high-income nations, the prevalence of this issue has fallen due to improved treatment and diagnosis, but in many African countries high blood pressure affects as much as 50 percent of the population.

Meanwhile, the proportion of people with raised blood glucose levels in some Pacific Island countries is as high as one-third, leaving them at high risk of cardiovascular disease, blindness and kidney failure due to diabetes.

Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO, said: "This report is further evidence of the dramatic increase in the conditions that trigger heart disease and other chronic illnesses, particularly in low and middle-income countries."

Last month, the organisation marked World Health Day by highlighting the fact that non-communicable diseases are the main health challenge faced by older people.