According to an ICMR report that was published in the UK medical journal "Lancet," India currently has more than 101 million individuals living with diabetes, up from 70 million in 2019. The report observes that while the numbers are stabilised in some industrialised states, they are rising at an alarming rate in many others, "warranting urgent state-specific interventions". At least 136 million people, or 15.3% of the population, have prediabetes. The highest prevalence of diabetes was observed in Goa (26.4%), Puducherry (26.3%) and Kerala (25.5%). The national average is 11.4%. The study, however, of warns of an explosion of diabetes cases in states with lower prevalence, such as UP, MP, Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh, over the next few years.
“In Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Chandigarh there are fewer pre-diabetes cases compared to diabetes cases. In Puducherry and Delhi, they are nearly equal and so we can say the disease is stabilising,” said the study’s first author, Dr Ranjit Mohan Anjana, who is president of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. Scientists have discovered more patients with prediabetes in states with lower diabetes incidence.
For instance, UP has a diabetic prevalence of 4.8%, the lowest in the country, but 18% are pre-diabetics compared to the national average 15.3%. “For every person with diabetes in UP, there is nearly four people with pre-diabetes. This means these people will soon become diabetics,” Dr Anjana said. In Madhya Pradesh, for every person with diabetes, there are three persons with pre-diabetes. “Sikkim is an exception where the prevalence of both diabetes and pre-diabetes is high. We must study the reasons,” she said.