A study has been conducted on the causes and prevention of diabetes among the Indian population for the first time. Until now, such studies were conducted only on Western populations and the results of the study were not applicable to residents of South Asia.
The results of the study, conducted by the Chennai-based M V Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Centre (a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Diabetes in India) under the guidance of scientist Dr A Ramachandran, were published in Diabetologia, the International Journal of Diabetes.
The study discovered that India has an estimated 35 million diabetics and worse, that nearly 13.3 million cases remain undiagnosed.
Various studies reveal that the high incidence of diabetes is mainly because of rapid urbanization, decreased physical activity, obesity, stress and above all, the low threshold level among Indians to environmental risk factors.
Only 6 percent of the urban population in the West have diabetes. In contrast, the number is between 12 and 15 percent in the case of urban South Asians.
The incidence of diabetics in urban India has increased 20 times In the last 20 years!
Another startling revelation is that over 50 percent cases of diabetes in rural India and 30 percent in urban areas go undiagnosed.
Undiagnosed diabetes can lead to long-term complications. "Early detection and proper treatment are very important," says Dr Ramachandran.
A question often asked is whether it is possible to prevent diabetes. Various studies and programs in the West have shown that a modification in lifestyle and proper medication can delay and prevent diabetes in high-risk groups. Western studies showed reduction diabetes among obese people who reduced their weight.
Indians are also relatively non-obese but highly insulin resistant. The onset of diabetes in Indians is significantly at a young age compared to their Western counterparts.
