The number of people living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million adults, with most living in developing countries, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report said on Wednesday.

The report was presented by WHO Director-General, Margaret Chan, ahead of World Health Day on Thursday, and it highlighted the need to step up prevention and treatment of diabetes.

The report documented the number of people living with diabetes with its prevalence growing in all regions of the world. It said that in 2014, 422 million adults had diabetes, compared with 108 million in 1980.

The epidemic of diabetes has major health and socio-economic impacts, especially in developing countries. Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012.

According to the report, higher-than-optimal blood glucose caused an additional 2.2 million deaths by increasing the risks of cardiovascular and other diseases.

“If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives, to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain.

“Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes,’’ Chan said.

The organisation called for expanding health-promoting environments to reduce diabetes risk factors, like physical inactivity and unhealthy diets, and strengthening national capacities to help people with diabetes receive treatment.