How can India tackle its diabetes burden?

Subject : Science and technology

Section :Health

Concept :

A study was published in The Lancet regarding a long term study on metabolic factors in the Indian subcontinent.
Launched in 2008, It was the largest long term study to estimate the country’s Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD).
Conducted over five phases between 2008 and 2020 across the whole country (except for some of the islands and Union Territories), 1.24 lakh individuals were part of this survey.

Key findings of the report:

According to the report, about 11% (101.3 million) of the country’s population is diabetic and 15.3 % (136 million) is in the prediabetic stage.
The researchers found that the conversion from prediabetes to diabetes is faster in India.
Urban India accounts for 16.4% of the cases of diabetes, while in the rural population the prevalence is 8.9%.
The study also shows that diabetes has become as common in 2-3 tier cities as it is in the metro cities.
Cases are surprisingly high even in the states like Kerala, Sikkim and Tripura- where socio-economic conditions are relatively better.

What does this study mean?

The results of the study should be taken as a warning and the first thing that needs to be done is to save the people from diabetes who are already in the prediabetic stage.
About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to it each year.
It is said that prevention is better than cure, so awareness campaigns should be run to focus on using lifestyle modifications, maintaining a healthy diet and getting sufficient exercise.Periodic check-ups should be promoted.
In rural areas, where the prevalence is still low, the aim should be to keep it in control.

About Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic issue that can lead to complications like cardiovascular diseases, kidney disease, neuropathy, blindness etc. Hence it becomes crucial to keep it away.
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease of high blood sugar (glucose) levels that result from problems with insulin secretion, its action, or both. Normally, blood glucose levels are tightly controlled by a hormone produced by the pancreas known as insulin. When blood glucose levels rise (for example, after eating food), insulin is released from the pancreas to normalize the glucose level.

Type 1 diabetes:

An absolute lack of insulin, usually due to destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, is the main problem in type 1 diabetes.
It is to be due to an autoimmune process, in which the body’s immune system mistakenly targets its own tissues (islet cells in the pancreas. This tendency for the immune system to destroy the beta cells of the pancreas is likely to be, at least in part, genetically inherited, although the exact reasons that this process happens are not fully understood.

Type 2 diabetes:

People who have type 2 diabetes can still produce insulin, but do so relatively inadequately for their body’s needs.
Genetics plays a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, and having a family history and close relatives with the condition increases your risk; however, there are other risk factors, with obesity being the most significant.