Visakhapatnam: Diabetes is a lifestyle disease but a recent study says that it is the rural rich and the urban poor who are prone to diabetes. A study carried out by Indian Council of Medical Research to find out the prevalence of diabetes and pre diabetes in 14 states of India has brought upfront these results. This is the largest nationally representative study of diabetes in India. It covered 57,000 people, collecting blood samples across the 14 states in three phases. In its second phase, the study covered four states and had taken samples from 3,825 people (1,686 male and 2,139 female) in AP. The report of the study, published in Lancet Journal in June, states that in the urban areas, low socioeconomic groups of people are prone to diabetes, while in the rural areas, the high socioeconomic groups are the worst hit.
The prevalence of diabetes in Andhra Pradesh was 8.4 per cent of the population. The prevalence of the disease is 12.7 per cent amongst the low socioeconomic strata (SES) group in the urban areas, while it is much lower at 8.8 per cent in high SES in urban areas. In the rural areas though, the results are dramatically different. The prevalence rate is 4.5 per cent in low SES and 8.8 per cent in high SES. The trend was similar in other states that were taken up for the study. Urban poor from the states had high per capita GDP income and were more prone to diabetes. AP at 8.4 per cent prevalence came in fourth place, with Tripura, Punjab and Tamil Nadu with 9.4 per cent, 10 per cent and 10.4 per cent respectively. Bihar and Meghalaya had low prevalence rate, which is attributed to their low GSDP.
Commenting on the study, some city-based diabetologists, said high SES is identified as a risk factor for diabetes in rural areas, but not urban areas. “The change in equation could be attributed to improved awareness about diabetes in urban areas, and because individuals of higher SES can afford to adopt health-promoting behavioral changes,” said diabetologist Hemant Pradhan.
Punjab leads with high prevalence of diabetes in both men and women. When asked why Punjab has high prevalence despite consuming chapati, Dr Pradhan said, “It’s not only rice or chapati, living in a stressful urban environment, dietary practices and sedentary lifestyle with consequent weight gain and body fat are the factors contributing to the increased risk of diabetes. Even those who belong to lower income groups have access to junk food.”
