Type 2 Diabetes in India: Challenges and Possible Solutions

During the period 1971–2000, studies from different parts of India reported a 10-fold increase in the incidence of diabetes in urban India (from 1.2% in 1971 to 12.1% in 2000).5-7 In 2003–2005, a national survey was conducted in persons of age greater than or equal to 15 years, in which self-reported prevalence of diabetes was 7.3% in the urban areas and 3.2% in periurban slum areas. The prevalence in rural areas was significantly lower (3.1%).8 Urban areas have witnessed a threeto fourfold increase in diabetes prevalence in many regions of India. The prevalence of diabetes is reaching a pandemic proportion which is mostly attributed to rapid lifestyle transitions and by a narrowing in the urban-rural divide in living conditions. Although there are disparities in the sample selection and screening criteria, the prevalence estimates are escalating both in the urban and rural regions of India. A recent study in Kerala showed that the rural population has a higher prevalence of diabetes than the urban population.9 In fact, the urbanization rate in Kerala is so rapid that the whole of Kerala is almost urbanized. Presently, India is largely Type 2 Diabetes in India: Challenges and Possible Solutions