Vietnam to foot $1.1 bln bill for diabetes by 2025

Experts also noted at a Sunday conference held in Hanoi that many people are not aware that they are diabetic. 

In 2007, the treatment cost for diabetes was estimated at $320 million, said Tran Huu Dang, president of the Vietnam Association of Diabetes & Endocrinology.

"Vietnam is one of the Asian countries with a high rate of diabetics, which is 5.5 percent of the population between 20 and 79. About 13.7 percent of the entire population is pre-diabetic," he said.

For every 20 adults in Vietnam, one is diabetic, said Dang, adding that "many are not aware that they have the condition." 

The number of Vietnamese people with diabetes, the third leading cause of death in the country, has almost doubled since the last decade, Dang said.

Several studies have said that an unhealthy diet and a lack of physical activity are major factors in the rise of diabetes in Vietnam. 

Diabetes has long been considered a global public health problem, with a recent estimate indicating 422 million people are living with the metabolic disorder, accounting for 8.5 percent of the global adult population.

Possible complications of diabetes include hypoglycemia, kidney failure and vision loss. Older patients with diabetes have a higher risk of premature death and a shorter life expectancy.