As though diabetes itself wasn’t bad enough, health experts warn us of yet another risk: As diabetes diagnoses across the globe continue to increase, so too will tuberculosis infections – having diabetes triples the risk for tuberculosis, researchers have found.

The areas of primary concern are China and India, which have the worlds largest populations of type 2 diabetes and tuberculosis, respectively.

According to the WHO, TB killed about 1.5 million people in 2013. While everyone has within their lungs the bacteria responsible for it, it rarely affects people with healthy immune systems. However, a disease like diabetes significantly impairs the immune system such that tuberculosis becomes a real threat.

Though the United States is the butt of most jokes about its citizens being obese (and therefore at greater risk for type 2 diabetes), the west is far from alone. Obesity rates are growing world-wide, which is particularly troublesome for countries without adequate medical care.

The WHO predicts that by 2035, six of the countries with the highest diabetic populations (Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, India and China) will also find themselves at a higher risk for tuberculosis.

The good news is that even with the rising risk of tuberculosis along with diabetes, the world mortality rate for TB continues to fall. From the WHO’s 2014 Global Tuberculosis Report, the mortality rate has dropped 45% since 1990 and continues to fall.

Unfortunately, news of the link between TB and diabetes means that even more funding for research and treatment will be needed in the coming years.

“In addition to the serious underfunding for research, US$ 8 billion a year is required for TB and MDR-TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Domestic and international financing needs to step up to prevent millions of unnecessary deaths,” says Katherine Floyd, WHO Coordinator for TB Monitoring and Evaluation.