Belying the common notion that South Indian States reported maximum number of diabetes cases, Sikkim emerged as the State to have maximum percentage of suspected diabetic patients, if the ongoing screening for diabetes and hypertension by the Union government is any indication.

According to the figures based on the screening so far done under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), screening for diabetes & hypertension among the population above 30 years of age has been initiated in 100 districts of 21 States. 3,81,12,537 persons have been screened for diabetes and 20,14,385 persons have been screened for hypertension till the end of August.

The screening found that 6.32 per cent of the population having suspected of diabetes and 5.91 per cent as suspected of hypertension. Standing high above the national average, 13.67 per cent people among those screened had diabetes while 18.16 per cent of them have hypertension. Out of total 127,393 people screened, 17414 persons have suspected cases of diabetes while 32,225 have hypertension.

Karnataka (9.36 per cent), Punjab (9.36 per cent), Gujarat (9.10 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (7.42 per cent) reported high incidence after Sikkim in the case of diabetes. Madhya Pradesh with just 2.57 per cent reported the least number of cases. In the case of hypertension, Assam came second with 10.42 per cent of prevalence, after Sikkim.

According to report published by International Diabetes Federation (IDF; 5th Edition, 2011), number of people with diabetes (20-79 years) in Urban setting of India are about 27 millions in 2011 which is projected to reach about 56 millions in 2030.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has completed the phase I of Task Force project entitled, “ICMR-India Diabetes (INDIAB) Study-Phase-I,” with the aim to determine the national prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and pre-diabetes in India, by estimating the state-wise prevalence of the same and  compare the prevalence of type-2 diabetes and pre-diabetes in urban and rural areas across India.

In the first phase of the study, the rural and urban settings in four states and one union territory viz., Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Chandigarh have been included. The adjusted prevalence of diabetes (both known and newly diagnosed) in Tamil Nadu was 10.4 per cent, Jharkhand - 5.3 per cent, Chandigarh - 13.6 per cent and Maharashtra - 8.4 per cent. The prevalence of pre-diabetes was 8.3 per cent, 8.1 per cent, 14.6 per cent and 12.8 per cent respectively.

Data reported during the course of screening of school children under NPCDCS indicates that out of 92,047 school children screened in the towns of Nainital, Ratlam and Bhilwara, 1,351(1.467 per cent) were suspected to be diabetic.