siliconindia | | September 20198THE BURDEN OF DIABETES IN INDIA: CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONSBy Dr. V. Mohan, Chairman & Chief Diabetologist, Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities CentreHaving completed his MBBS and MD - General Medicine from the Madras Medical College, Chennai, Dr. Mohan is one of the most eminent personalities in the Indian Diabetes realm and even received the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2018 for his contribution in the field of diabetes.in my opinionC urrently in second place with respect to the number of people with diabetes, India is ex-pected to soon overtake China to become the `Diabetes Capital of the World'. More worrisome is the fact that diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputa-tions, and cardiovascular disease. Thus, diabetes leads to both premature morbidity as well as mortality. This un-derscores the need for urgently reducing the burden due to diabetes in India. This article lists some of the chal-lenges that diabetes poses for our country and suggests possible solutions.Challenge-1: Sheer Magnitude of the Problem of DiabetesAccording to the Diabetes Atlas 2017 of the International Diabetes Federation, it is estimated that there are current-ly over 74 million people affected with diabetes in India, and this number is projected to increase to 134 million by 2045. The ICMR ­ INDIAB Study showed that the preva-lence of diabetes varied from 4.3 percent in Bihar to 13.6 percent in Chandigarh. Moreover, the rates of prediabetes are even higher. This shows that the diabetes epidemic is far from over. Diabetes will become a condition that has gone out of control unless intense and focused efforts are made by governments, communities and individuals.Challenge-2: High Economic Burden The annual cost of diabetes care was over Rs.1800 billion in the year 2010 and would be much higher now. Presence of complications further increases the cost of treatment. One study reported that the cost of diabetes care for a patient with foot ulcers was more than four times high-Dr. V. Mohan,Chairman & Chief Diabetologist
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