Healthcare organisations, state government to collaborate for ‘Conquer diabetes’ to help manage and diagnose the disease in slums and rural folks.
Often termed a lifestyle disease affecting the affluent, diabetes is making inroads into underprivileged sections of society as well. To address this issue of discovering and managing diabetes in rural and slum areas, a project titled ‘Conquer diabetes’ will be initiated by organisations already working in the field with support of the Gujarat government.
The organisations that will undertake this initiative are, namely, All India Institute of Diabetes and Research (AIIDR), Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, Swasthya Diabetes Care and the BMS Foundation.
Speaking at a conference held to announce the project, Dr Mayur Patel of Swasthya Diabetes Care said 15% to 20% of adult population in Gujarat suffers from diabetes.
“We can say that one in every 5 person in the state is a diabetic. But the alarming trend is contrary to our perceptions. We have found rising instances of diabetes among the rural and tribal people as well,” said Dr Patel.
According to Dr Patel, rapid urbanisation of rural areas is an important reason for diabetes to take root in such areas. “Rural people too are getting used to a sedentary lifestyle. Their food habits are also changing rapidly and this could be one of the reasons. We, however, need to research the trend thoroughly as to why this disease is seen among even those who live a physically-demanding life,” said Dr Patel.
Dr Deepak Saxena of IIPH said that there was lack of proper research on trends related to diabetes in Gujarat. “There have been isolated studies. In one study by the AMC, it was found that 16% to 20% of slum dwellers were diabetics,” said Dr Saxena.
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