New Delhi: Nearly 40 per cent of Delhiites sampled in the 31 to 45 age group were found to be diabetic, according to a report by Gurgaon-based SRL Diagnostics lab.
The lab conducted a retrospective data mining results of 2,58,021 tests done for HbA1c — a test that measures the amount of blood sugar or glucose attached to hemoglobin. The results are based on samples received from January 2017 till September 2021 in Delhi.
Levels of HbA1c just below 6.5 per cent may indicate the presence of intermediate hyperglycaemia, which means that high levels of glucose are circulating in the blood, according to a 2009 report published by an International Expert Committee on the role of HbA1c in the diagnosis of diabetes.
The committee also recommended that persons with an HbA1c level between 6.0 and 6.5 per cent were at particularly high risk and might be considered for diabetes prevention interventions.
For people without diabetes, the normal range for the HbA1c level is less than 5.7 per cent. HbA1c levels between 5.7 per cent and 6.4 per cent is defined as pre-diabetes which means that one has a higher chance of getting diabetes.
Levels of 6.5 per cent or higher are diagnosed as diabetes.
“One in six people with Diabetes in the world is from India. As of 2019, India had the second-highest number of diabetes patients aged between 20 and 79 years with close to 77 million living with diabetes,” Anurag Bansal, Technical Director, SRL Diagnostics, said in a statement.
“In our analysis for the city of Delhi, we have found that amongst the 31 and 45 age group a staggering 37 per cent samples were diagnosed with prediabetes and 39 per cent are diabetic. Early diagnosis, extensive awareness and lifestyle interventions are required to keep our future generations healthier,” Bansal added.
A high 42 per cent of all samples tested reported positive for diabetes, and 37 per cent tested positive for prediabetes.
Delhi witnessed a 29 per cent increase in the number of samples tested for diabetes between 2017 and 2019. However, during the pandemic, the number of samples tested dropped by 31 per cent in 2020.
As much as 46 per cent of samples from males and 36 per cent samples from females were found to be diabetic.
The data also shows that the healthy and young population between the age group 31 to 45 have a high burden of diabetes. Over 37 per cent of samples were diagnosed with prediabetes and 39 per cent were found to be diabetic.
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