Conforming to WHO, Diabetes has set foot in the top ten leading causes of death across the globe. Besides it is the central cause of kidney failure,adult blindness and lower limb amputations. Diabetes is a chronic disease whereby body experiences an increased blood glucose level, a condition medically termed as Hyperglycemia. This defect comes to light when Pancreas either do not produce enough insulin or when body can’t effectively use insulin that it produces. Insulin is a hormone produced by our Pancreas and plays a key role in maintaining the normal blood glucose concentration in our body. The global prevalence of diabetes has been estimated to expand from 4% in 1995 to 5.4% in 2025.India lies at 2nd position among the top 10 countries in the world with an approximation of 77 million diabetics, China being the first with a total of about 116 million diabetics. Besides this one among the six diabetics across the globe is an Indian. As more than 77 million adults are living with diabetes in India, the researchers are predicting this will increase up to 134 million by about 2045.Due to the continuous upsurge of this illness Indiahas been declared as the DIABETIC CAPITAL of the world and as per a2021 review people inhabiting cities and metropolitan areas in India are more prone to develop diabetes. Overall females have higher risk of developing this disorder as compare to males. As far as our J&K is concerned 8.9% of its population is suffering from diabetes. Also, one among the 10 residents of Srinagar aged above 20 suffer from the insulin dependent diabetes. Not only this 22% of Srinagar population suffers from Impaired fasting glucose(IFG),a condition simply called Pre-diabetes. It is alarming, one of the rapidly growing and challenging epidemics. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes constituting about 90% of the diabetic patients and if left untreated can lead to severe complications like retinopathy (eye), coronary heart disease, neuropathy (brain) and nephropathy (kidney).
It’s a lifelong defect with increased co-morbidities and mortality and also comprises the quality of life. This disease and allied complications also cause heavy economic burdens on diabetic patients. Rising prevalence of diabetes is driven by a combination of factors like rapid urbanisation, unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles, tobacco use and increased life expectancy. Moreover, obesity and overweight are the most important risk factors responsible for diabetes. Stress is also considered a contributing factor for developing diabetes. Much of the diabetes burden can be prevented or delayed by behavioral changes. Regular physical activity, following a very low carb & healthy diet, preferring healthy fats, skipping fad diets, losing extra weight, quitting smoking, avoiding sedentary behaviour are few crucial preventive measures against diabetes, as prevention is key to the problem. A proper treatment after detection can further prevent it. Raising awareness and educating people about the prevalence of diabetes, it’s symptoms, risk factors and treatment options can also help people to prevent or delay serious health complications. Appropriate strategic healthcare planning and national diabetes prevention programs could be pursued to avert this disease. Keep learning about diabetes. Prevention is better than cure.
(The author is a Research Scholar at the Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir Srinagar. Views are her own)
