Over 40 per cent of Delhiites are diabetic, a new study today claimed as it placed the national capital in the first position among cities closely followed by Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
"The study reveals that about 42.5 per cent of Delhi's population suffers from this disease, which in the case of Mumbai is estimated at 38.5 per cent of its total population. In Ahmedabad 36 per cent people are diabetic. In Bangalore 26.5 per cent, while in Chennai the percentage is estimated to be 24.5 per cent.
"In Hyderabad and Kolkata, the number of diabetic patients is estimated at 22.6 per cent and 19.7 per cent of the total population, respectively. Even in rural areas, people are increasingly becoming victims of diabetes," an Assocham study 'Diabetes on the Rise in India' said.
The study also found that if changes in lifestyle and food habits are not made, 125 million Indians are likely to become victims of Diabetes by 2035.
Besides the cost burden imposed by the disease, the impact on quality of life and productivity of individuals is particularly severe, especially in later years, it said.
It said that Delhiites consume high amount of oil, ghee or butter in various cooked products which has evidently led to increase in the number of obesity and hypertension cases, pushing up the figures with regard to diabetics.
The Assocham study said the increase in diabetes cases among men grew by 25 per cent, while among women by a whopping 42 per cent.
It said around 55 per cent of the respondents covered were in the age bracket of 20-29 years, followed by 30-39 years (26 per cent), 40-49 years (16 per cent), 50-59 years (2 per cent) and 60-69 years (approximately 1 per cent).
The study was able to target private employees from 18 broad sectors, with maximum from IT/ITes sector (17 per cent).
The study included major cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun and others. A little over 500 employees were selected from each city on an average.
The Assocham health committee warned that uncontrolled diabetes can affect various parts of the body, including blood vessels, heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves, and advised that adequate preventive measures needed to be adopted to further control the spread of the disease.
An estimated 85 million people in India suffer from pre-diabetes, a condition in which the patients have high blood glucose level but are not in the diabetes range. These people are at high risk of getting diabetes, it said.
Diabetes is one of the most common non-communicable diseases worldwide and fourth leading causes of death in the developed world.
The paper has projected that the number of diabetes patients worldwide would go over 450 million by 2025, with a percentage increase of 150.
The paper concludes that larger intake of vitamins such as Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid can keep human populace off diabetics.
Assocham said it will hold over 85 diabetes screening camps in Delhi over the next 100 days.
