A new ICMR study revealed that more than 100 million Indians have diabetes. States including Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Chandigarh have the number of type 1 and type 2 diabetes cases.
A newly published study by the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) revealed disturbing new data: more than 100 million Indians currently have diabetes. According to the research that was published in TheLancet in 2019, there were 70 million diabetics worldwide.
Even if the numbers are stabilizing in a few developed states, the article in the UK-based medical journal1 stated that they have been rising at an alarming rate in others, “warranting urgent state-specific interventions.”
Additionally, prediabetes affects at least 136 million individuals, or 15.3% of the population, predominantly children and young adults.
Goa, a popular tourist destination, has the highest number of type 1 and type 2 diabetes cases, with a prevalence of 26.4%, closely followed by Puducherry, a union territory, at 26.3%.
Kerala, with 25.5% of instances, finishes in third place.
The report adds that the average prevalence of the progressive illness is 11.4% nationwide, but it also forewarns of an impending surge in diabetes cases in states with lower prevalence rates, including as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Arunachal Pradesh.
Pre-diabetes cases are less common than diabetes cases in Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Chandigarh. We can claim that the illness is stabilizing because they are virtually equal in Puducherry and Delhi, according to the study’s first author, Dr. Ranjit Mohan Anjana, president of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation.In states with lower prevalence of diabetes, a significant percentage of people have been found to have pre-diabetes.
Dr. Anjana, one of the study’s co-authors, stated that a thorough investigation is required to ascertain the precise causes of this.
The Lancet reports that between October 2008 and 2020, researchers examined more than 1 lakh people from both urban and rural locations to obtain the data. According to the report, 74 million Indians had diabetes as of 2019.After two years, when the survey included all of the northeastern states with low prevalence and removed those with typically large numbers, the prevalence fell to 72 million. “This time, we took into account UTs and 31 states.
The weighted prevalence is now reflecting the situation on the ground, according to Dr. Mohan.Doctors also took into account diabetes risk factors such obesity, high cholesterol, and hypertension, all of which were shown to be prevalent among the study’s participants.
According to specialists, heart attacks, strokes, and renal problems are all made more likely by high blood sugar levels. According to Dr. Ashok Kumar Das, head of the Indiab (India-diabetes) expert group, “there is huge variation in prevalence between the states and therefore every state will have to look at different measures to prevent health complications.”
