LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - Every country in the world will see rates of diabetes rise in the next 30 years without action, according to a new global study. There are currently 529 million people in the world with diabetes, the study led by researchers at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington found. The majority of the cases are type 2 diabetes, the form of the disease that is linked to obesity and largely preventable, the researchers said. For example, prevalence rates are expected to reach 16.8% in North Africa and the Middle East and 11.3% in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2050, compared to an estimated 9.8% globally. The study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is part of a wider series on diabetes published on Thursday in The Lancet medical journal.

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Persons: ”, Liane Ong, Bill, Melinda Gates, Jennifer Rigby, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Institute of Health, University of Washington, Melinda Gates Foundation, Thomson Locations: North Africa, East, America, Caribbean