About 50 million Chinese have diabetes and are paying more than 170 billion yuan (20 billion US dollars) every year for treatment, according to a recent survey.

The survey, conducted among 40,000 urban and rural residents in 11 provinces and municipalities across China , found that Chinese diabetes morbidity rate rose from 0.67 percent in 1980 to the current 3.2 percent.

It is estimated that China has more than 20 million diabetics at the age of above 20 years. About 30 million Chinese suffer from impaired glucose tolerance, an early stage of diabetes, according to Li Tianlin, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine (CAPM).

"Some 170 billion yuan in annual medical expenditures of the patients undoubtedly pose a heavy burden on the government," said Li, from the CAPM's Diabetes and Other Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center.

Diabetes and its related complications has ranked as one of the major health risks in China , following cancer, and cardiovascular and cerebral diseases, according to Li.

"The problem is that lots of Chinese are not diagnosed and given early treatment because they aren't educated about the problem or have taken no steps to prevent it," Li said, adding that the morbidity rate will not drop for 50 years.