New Delhi: A recent data from the ‘Longitudinal Aging Study in India’ (LASI), revealed that about a fifth of those aged 45 and above were living with diabetes in 2019. It also said that two of these people of the five were possibly unaware of their condition. The study was published in The Lancet Global Health.
The LASI survey — covering nearly 60,000 adults between 2017 and 2019 — revealed that diabetes prevalence was almost identical among men and women at about 20%. Urban residents were twice as likely to have the disease compared to those in rural areas. Notably, in more economically developed states, the share of people with diabetes was even higher, with some reporting one-third or more of their older population affected.
The study also uncovered a worrying knowledge gap: two out of every five people with diabetes may not even know they have it. Among those who were aware of their diagnosis, nearly half (46%) had managed to keep their blood sugar under control. About 60% had controlled blood pressure, while just 6% were on cholesterol-lowering medication to reduce heart disease risk.
Researchers from the International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai, along with US collaborators, used HbA1c blood tests to measure long-term glucose control. They concluded that India remains in a “nutrition transition” phase, where higher socioeconomic groups have the highest rates of diabetes.
They also warned that even if the disease’s prevalence within specific age groups stays the same, the total number of middle-aged and older adults with diabetes will inevitably increase due to demographic changes.