New Delhi: For the medical fraternity and thousands of health conscious people, Diabetes has been a major health issue all over India.
The disease is known to be a silent killer worldwide, but in India this has been the deadliest. Thanks to the changing lifestyle, eating habits and stress level, diabetes is growing alarmingly in India. The number has increased to 65 million people which was 50.8 million in 2010.
In 2000, India (31.7 million) topped the world with the highest number of people with diabetes mellitus followed by China (20.8 million) with the United States (17.7 million) in second and third place, respectively. It was predicted that by 2025, India will have 69.9 million people and China will have 59.3 million people with diabetics.
World Health Organisations (WHO) projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030. The prevalence of diabetes for all age-groups worldwide was estimated to be 2.8 per cent in 2000 and 4.4 per cent in 2030. The incidence of diabetes is increasing in urban as well as rural areas. Most of the recent studies show equal increase in prevalence of diabetes (about 30-50 per cent) in urban and rural areas.
“There is a rise in diabetes due to population growth, aging, urbanisation, and increasing the prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity.Overweight or obese people have risk of developing type 2 diabetes, alterations of hormones such as leptin, cortisol, adiponectin involved in food intake. Obesity appears to be spreading across India in part at least as a result of processed western food”, says Dr More, D.F.I.D.(Diab.), Mumbai.
“India actually has the highest number of diabetics of any one country in the entire world. IGT (Impaired Glucose Tolerance) is also a mounting problem in India. The prevalence of IGT is thought to be around 8.7 per cent in urban areas and 7.9 per cent in rural areas, although this estimate may be too high. It is thought that around 35 per cent of IGT sufferers go on to develop type 2 diabetes, so India is genuinely facing a healthcare crisis”, says Dr. More.
In India, the type of diabetes differs considerably from that in the western world. Type 1 is considerably more rare, and only about 1/3 of type II diabetics are overweight or obese. Diabetes is also beginning to appear much earlier in life in India, meaning that chronic long-term complications are becoming more common. The implications for the Indian healthcare system are enormous.
It is found that, the biggest challenge for patient is access to reliable information regarding diabetes management and appropriate medical advice. The dispel myths surrounding the diet and medication and ensuring compliance to the medical regime.
According to ASSOCHAM, 42.5 per cent of Delhi population suffers from this disease which in case of Mumbai is estimated at 38.5 per cent of its total population. With 36 per cent of Ahemdabad population is diabetic, Bangalore at 26.5 per cent suffers from diabetic while in Chennai, and its percentage estimated is at 24.5 per cent. Even in rural areas, people are increasingly becoming victims of Diabetic. In Hyderabad and Kolkata, the number of diabetic patients is estimated at 22.6 per cent and 19.7 per cent of their total population.
Tips to prevent diabetes
1) A well balanced diet including whole grains, pulses, fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy and avoiding saturated and trans-fats
2) Regular physical activity for 60 minutes everyday
3) Maintaining healthy weight
4) Disciplined lifestyle
5) Regular check ups
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