Delhi — which is home to almost thirty lakh diabetic patients, according to Diabetes Foundation of India — could soon become the diabetes capital of India.
The idea that diabetes is a disease that mostly affects the affluent and citizens in posh areas can now be rejected. According to a study by Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), type 2 diabetes is rapidly growing in Delhi slums. Even more serious are the signs that it is also affecting adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19. According to the MAMC research, 30 out of 1000 adolescents surveyed have type 2 diabetes, while 70 out of 1000 adolescents have hypertension. In addition to this, 12.7 per cent of the adults surveyed had diabetes and 24 per cent of them had hypertension.
The study, which included 1005 adolescents and 740 adults, was conducted in the slum areas of Delhi Gate, Basti Vikas Kendra and Vikram Nagar. Obesity, sedentary lifestyle, high salt intake are considered major factors for diabetes and hypertension.
The study also revealed that as the level of awareness in slums regarding these ailments is low, there is a high probability of the patients missing their doses of medication, which could exacerbate their condition. According to the study, the two major symptoms that helped in detection of their ailment were excessive headache and slow healing of wounds.
Dr Suneela Garg, head of community medicine at MAMC and supervisor of the study said: “The threat of diabetes is real in Delhi and many people are not aware of this disease. By this study, the objective is to explain that diabetes is not only restricted to affluent areas. It is not a ‘rich man’s disease’. Now, with their lifestyle habits, even adolescents can have diabetes and hypertension.”
Dr Garg further said that one out of every four Delhites was at a risk of being a diabetic and it was essential to test their blood glucose levels, especially if they experience symptoms such a weak eyesight, fatigue and headache. She however assured that with a disciplined lifestyle, people can live with diabetes without any complications.
In his eighteenth edition of Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too highlighted the increase in diabetes cases and asked people to follow a healthy lifestyle with regular check up.