LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The number of people suffering from diabetes will double to 220 million by the year 2010, a study published on Monday predicted.

Currently, 2.1 percent of the world's population have diabetes, but it may increase to over three percent in the next 12 years. Most of the new cases will occur in Asia which will have 61 percent of the global total, the study said.

``With the unrestrained forces of economic globalisation and industrialisation, the prevalence of diabetes is likely to dramatically increase in the next millennium,'' said Dr Paul Zimmet, a co-author of the report published in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

``What makes these figures particularly worrying is that the burden of this increase in prevalence will fall disproportionately on those societies who may be least well equipped to deal with it,'' he added.

The disease and the ailments it causes, including kidney disease, strokes, heart attacks, blindness and nerve damage that can result in amputations, will be a major public health problem for most countries.

Cases in Asia are expected to swell from an estimated 66 million in 1997 to more than 132 million in the year 2010.

The disease will continue to rise throughout the western world, but at a faster rate in developing countries.

Zimmet and his colleagues who worked on the study said they hope it will raise awareness about the disease and encourage governments to improve monitoring and prevention strategies.

``This research paints a very bleak picture of the future both nationally and globally,'' Prof George Alberti, the vice chairman of the British Diabetes Association, said in a statement.

He called for more investment in finding a cure for diabetes and said it was vital that the medical infrastructure, including specially trained health experts and fully equipped centres, be in place to deal with the problem.