More young people now get deadlier type-2 diabetes
From 3.1 crore diabetics in India some 15 years ago, the number has now gone up to 7 crore, says expert
NEW DELHI: Type-2 diabetes that normally afflicts older adults is striking young Indians and it’s striking them harder.
Though young people with type-2 diabetes do not need insulin to survive, they are at greater risk of life-threatening complications, such as kidney damage and heart disease, than people with insulin-dependent diabetes.
One in every four (25.3%) people under 25 with diabetes in India has adult-onset type-2 diabetes, which, by definition, should strike only older adults with a family history of diabetes, obesity, unhealthy diets and inactivity, data from the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR’s) youth diabetes registry shows.
“Youth-onset type-2 diabetes is no longer rare. Family history is strong and obesity, metabolic syndrome and acanthosis nigricans (dark, velvety skin patches) are usually seen in young patients with type-2 diabetes,” says Dr Tanvir Kaur, deputy director general, ICMR.
Type-2 diabetes in the young is more aggressive than in adults, the registry shows. “The risk of complications for younger persons with type-2 diabetes is twofold to threefold higher than type-1 diabetes,” says Dr Nikhil Tandon, head of endocrinology and metabolism, AIIMS, which is partnering in the registry.
Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the immune system destroys the cells producing insulin in the pancreas, necessitating the use of insulin. “Adult-onset” type-2 diabetes occurs when the body cannot use insulin produced efficiently because of metabolic reasons, forcing the pancreas to overwork and finally stop production.
“People believe that just because young people with type-2 diabetes don’t need insulin, it is less sinister than type-1, but it’s not so. It needs immediate attention because complications are two to three times higher than for young people with type-1 diabetes,” says Dr Tandon.
ONE IN EVERY FOUR PEOPLE UNDER 25 WITH DIABETES IN INDIA HAS ADULTONSET TYPE2 DIABETES
LUCKNOW: Cold drinks might make one feel energetic instantly but they harmed the body by damaging beta cells that stored and released insulin in the body, said office-bearers of Research Society for Diabetes in India (RSSDI) on Monday.
“Soda-based cold drinks have ready energy that makes you active in behaviour. The energy from your food gets stored in the body and remains unused,” said Prof NS Verma, senior faculty at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU).
“In some countries, consumption of cold drinks is discouraged,” he said. Prof Verma said the number of diabetes patients in India had doubled in 15 years and people with risk of diabetes had also gone up in the country. “Diabetes should not be treated as a disease but a man-made circumstance. As poor lifestyle leads to diabetes, one needs a good lifestyle along with medicine to keep diabetes under control,” he said.
Sharing the theme ‘women
and diabetes’ for this year’s World Diabetes Day (November 14) national executive member of RSSDI Dr Anuj Maheshwari said: “From 3.1 crore diabetics in India some 15 years ago the number is now 7 crore and the reasons are clear.”
“In India, we use a major part ofthe health budget in dealing with complications arising out of diabetes and do not look into its root cause. As a habit, we delay treatment thereby giving more time to the disease to increase complications,” said Dr Maheshwari.
Director of Jai Clinic and Diabetic Care Centre Dr AK Tewari said nearly 70 million people – half of them women – had diabetes and the number was likely to rise to 101 million by 2030.
According to a report published by the Brussels-based International Diabetes Federation in 2012, nearly 60% of diabetics in India have never been screened or diagnosed due to lack of awareness. The study said nearly 63% people did not even know the complications that arose from the disease. Director, Jiva Ayurveda, Dr Pratap Chauhan said women in India should be more careful as they were living a stressful life leading to hormonal imbalance, obesity, low immunity and depression which put them at risk of diabetes.