Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The overall prevalence of diabetes in the Jammu region is 18.9 per cent, with an alarming 26.5 per cent in urban areas and 14.5 per cent in rural areas, an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-led study revealed on October 21.
Additionally, 10.8 per cent of the Jammu population is affected by pre-diabetes, emphasising the urgent need for action against the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the region, according to the study by ICMR, in collaboration with the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF).
The ICMR-India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB) national study is the first of its kind in the region, which includes data for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The study has shown there were 101 million people with diabetes in India. In addition, there were 136 million people with prediabetes in the country.
“The ICMR-INDIAB study is a landmark study, as it is the first representative research providing authentic epidemiological data on diabetes, prediabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity across various states and union territories (UTs) of India,” Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh said.
“The data obtained through the ICMR-INDIAB study in Jammu will help to estimate the health burden due to diabetes, prediabetes and metabolic NCDs, assess the level of diabetes control among individuals with self-reported diabetes and help in shifting the focus to the prevention and control of diabetes and other NCDs in the union territory of Jammu,” Jitendra added.
The ICMR-INDIAB study is a comprehensive national survey designed to provide reliable data on the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at both the state and national levels.
Coordinated by the MDRF and strongly supported by the ICMR-INDIAB Expert Group, this cross-sectional, door-to-door survey of individuals aged 20 years and above covered all 28 states, the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, and 7 Union Territories (UTs) in a phased manner, starting from 2008 to 2024.
