UNDIAGNOSED diabetes can nearly double stroke risk, a study shows.

Around 850,000 Brits are thought to have type 2 diabetes without knowing about it.

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US researchers found women who are unaware they have the condition are 99 per cent more likely to have a stroke.

They were also at a 50 per cent greater risk of heart disease than men.

Dr Yilin Yoshida, of Tulane University, said: “The differences between women and men in relation to diabetes and heart disease risk are astounding. 

“Our findings can be partly explained by biological differences, which include women being more insulin sensitive than men.

“We advise doctors to be mindful of the different risks women and men face, to ensure the appropriate care is provided.”

Around 5million Brits are estimated to be living with diabetes currently, according to Diabetes UK.

Some 90 per cent of those have type 2 diabetes, which causes high blood sugar levels because the body is unable to produce enough of a hormone called insulin.

Around 56 per cent of Brits with diabetes are men and 44 per cent are women.

The lifelong condition increases your risk of deadly heart disease and stroke and can also lead to nerve damage, blindness and kidney problems.

Experts fear the number of diabetes patients is likely to continue rising, predicting that more than 1million people across the world will have it by 2050.

The latest study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, looked at how prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes affect men and women’s risk of heart problems.

They tracked 18,745 US adults for an average of more than 18 years.

Women with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes were 83 per cent more likely to develop heart disease.

For comparison, the risk was 60 per cent higher in men.

Men with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes were at an 81 per cent greater risk of stroke.

The researchers said women’s greater chances of developing either condition suggest doctors should follow sex-specific guidelines for screening and treatment.