A study claimed that men over the age of 50 are almost twice as likely as women to have diabetes without knowing it.

A study involving more than 6,700 UK adults between the ages 52-79 found that Type-2 diabetes had affected 502 men. It is the most common form of diabetes.

Out of the total affected men, 22 percent had no previous clue about the condition in comparison to the 12 percent women who were unaware.

Type-2 diabetes is related to lifestyle and overweight and all forms of obesity.

Two million people in the UK suffer from Type-2 diabetes and a about 750,000 are believed to be suffering with this disease without knowing it.

The journal, Diabetic Medicine, reported this new research.

The research found that people had a greater risk of having undiagnosed diabetes if they had a high Body Mass Index (BMI). This is a measure of weight in relation to th the height, a large waist, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Factors like wealth, education, social class, ethnicity, age and smoking were not closely related with the increased risk.