Hyderabad: Telangana ranks fourth in diabetes diagnosis, with 14% of those being screened turning out to be diabetic. This was revealed in the latest report tabled in the Lok Sabha on the spread of the disease. While Kerala has reported over 47 lakh patients (self-reported by the state), Maharashtra and Karnataka are ahead of Telangana when it comes to diagnosis.
Maharashtra diagnosed over 40 lakh diabetes patients up to Nov 2024, followed by Karnataka, which has over 28 lakh diabetes patients diagnosed at the non-communicable disease (NCD) clinics. Telangana identified 24.5 lakh patients up to Nov this year and has all the patients under treatment.
The NCD clinics in India are part of the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), launched by the govt of India. These clinics were introduced in 2014 in Telangana with the aim to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases by providing screening, diagnosis, management, and health promotion services. In fact, the state govt estimates that around 5 million patients will receive treatment through the NCD clinics in Telangana in the near future due to the rapid increase in the problem.
“The fact that nearly 40% of the population of Telangana is concentrated in and around Hyderabad city means that a large number of the people are living in the city and are prone to urbanisation-related health problems. Obesity and lack of physical activity — the two primary reasons for diabetes — are on the rise in Telangana and the southern part of the country, which is why diabetes is more prevalent in southern states,” said Gandhi Medical College professor and healthcare expert Dr Kiran Madala, adding that unlike earlier when diabetes was common in people over 50 years of age, now it is being seen in as early as the 20s.
Urbanisation also means unhealthy food habits with ready-to-eat food choices, which have now made inroads into rural areas, further increasing the spread of diabetes. The latest National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) conducted in Telangana between 2019 and 2021 revealed that the prevalence of diabetes (measured by self-reported cases) was 13.8% among men and 10.2% among women in the state.
