Last Updated: 2008-09-08 14:50:04 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By C. Vidya Shankar, MD
CHENNAI, India (Reuters Health) - Researchers from north India report that 21.1 percent of affluent adults have type 2 diabetes, the highest figures from India so far.
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is likely to reach 79.4 million by the year 2030, Dr. Eesh Bhatia and colleagues write in the August issue of Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.
Bhatia from the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute for Medical Sciences, Lucknow, and his team studied the prevalence of diabetes in the year 2003 among 1,112 adult white-collar workers residing in affluent neighborhoods with an average monthly income of around $400, which was considered affluent during that time.
The prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance was (21.1 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively," Bhatia and colleagues report. The prevalence was significantly higher among males and among older age groups, they found.
High body mass index, waist-hip ratio, and elevated triglycerides were associated with a significant risk of both type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, the researchers observed.
The prevalence of obesity and overweight was 32 percent and 43 percent, respectively, they found, and 87 percent of the study population had central obesity.
"The prevalence of diabetes in affluent Indians wherever studied is exceedingly high and it is increasing," Bhatia told Reuters Health.
"The reason for the trend is increasing obesity and lack of exercise reflected in a sedentary lifestyle. Both result in greater insulin resistance and a propensity to develop diabetes at an earlier age." he explained.
"Our findings emphasize the need for early screening and aggressive measures for prevention of diabetes in this high risk population," Bhatia's team concludes.
SOURCE: Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, August 2008.
Dr. Sears comments:
India remains the country with the greatest number of diabetics in the world. Because diabetes is so costly a disease, its continued growth will cripple the Indian economy in the future.