World Diabetes Day Brings India's Diabetes Challenge To The Fore

India now holds the unwelcome distinction of the world diabetes capital with as many as 70 million people suffering from the disease, a number projected to increase to 120 million in the next 20 years.

On November 14, India celebrated Children’s day and also marked the World Diabetes day. In 1922, Frederick Banting discovered insulin and today we acknowledge his work by spreading awareness about diabetes on his birthday.

India now holds the unwelcome distinction of the world diabetes capital with as many as 70 million people suffering from the disease, a number projected to increase to 120 million in the next 20 years. The implications are grim. In a poor country like ours, the average diabetic patient is estimated to spend about Rs 25,000 annually to manage the disease and its associated complications. It has even been reported that diabetes is an underlying cause in 50 per cent of adult deaths in India. Globally, the prevalence of diabetes has doubled since 1980 rising from 4.7 percent to 8.5 percent in the adult population while the total health expenditure among adults due to the disease is estimated at USD 673 billion.

What is the disease about?

Diabetes is a chronic disease occurring when the pancreas is unable to make insulin or when the body is unable to make proper use of the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that allows glucose from the food we eat to pass from the blood stream into the cells in the body to produce energy. All the carbohydrates we consume is broken down into glucose in the blood. Insulin helps glucose get into the cells. The inability to produce insulin or make proper use of it leads to elevated glucose levels in the blood (known as hyperglycaemia). Over the long term, high glucose levels lead to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves.