With ‘Beat Diabetes’ as this year’s theme for ‘World Health Day, the Endocrine Society of India (ESI) is an association with Novo Nordisk India (NNI) commissioned an eight city survey among physicians by IMRB to understand the burden of diabetes in India and the optimum ways to treat and prevent.
Melvin D’souza, Vice President & General Manager Novo Nordisk India Pvt Ltd told media that India is estimated to have about 69 million people with diabetes, the second-largest in the world after China. To fight it there are only about a lakh doctors across the country (general physicians and specialists included).
According to International Diabetes Federation (IDF), one in 11 adults has diabetes. The ESI-NNI survey revealed similar findings. 93% of participating physicians agreed that incidence level of diabetes has grown manifold in the last 2-3 years. The situation is severe in tier-1 cities with physicians seeing a 200% increase in incidence levels.
Rapid urbanization and industrialization in India is taking the burden of diabetes among people to alarming proportions. The stressful lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, and physical inactivity are contributing to the growing percentage of Indians developing diabetes.
D’ souza said, “In India, there is an immediate need for a concerted effort from all stakeholders involved to bring more awareness around diabetes and its staggering socio- economic burden.”
“Diabetes should not be considered a disease rather a lifestyle related disorder that can be managed with simple modifications to one’s lifestyle and food habits. With early detection and on-time treatment, people with diabetes can live a healthy life,” he added.
According to the survey, although all newly diagnosed people with diabetes were advised lifestyle modifications, 7 out of 10 patients found it difficult to implement.
The survey showed that over 40% participating doctors believed that insulin therapy can address diabetes-related health complications, the most notable being the prevention of kidney ailments.
Dr. Shashank Joshi, President of ESI, said that “It is alarming to note that in tier-1 cities, physicians see a 200% increase in incidence levels of diabetes. It is heartening to note that help is at hand in the form of medications like insulin that allows people with diabetes to continue to live a healthy, complication-free life.”
The survey has indicated that around 9 out 10 participants agreed that insulin is most effective in reducing blood glucose in people with diabetes. We need to make people with diabetes understand the nature of the disease and ensure adherence to the medical regime.
While oral medication is prescribed by the physician community for type 2 diabetes, 50% physicians shifted treatments to insulin therapy within three years, owing to long-term benefits of insulin. The survey further added that currently only 1/3 people with diabetes readily accept insulin when prescribed, with the biggest concern being fear and pain associated with taking injections.
