The devastating Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the alarming incidence of diabetes in Gujarat that has exacerbated the situation. The state government has now recognized diabetes as a significant public health issue.
According to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) released in 2022, the prevalence of high and very high random blood glucose (RBG) levels (above 141 mg/dl) among women in Gujarat was 14.8%, while it was 16.1% among men.
National Family Health Survey
Alarmingly, this is triple the figure for women than that of the previous National Family Health Survey-4 released in 2015-16, when it was 5.8%. According to NFHS-4, the figure stood at 7.6% for men, which is more than double in five years.
Gujarat, which ranks fourth among states with high RBG, reported a higher percentage than the national average of 12.4% for women and 14.4% for men. This ranking is among all the major states with a population of more than three crore.
Top priority for the state
The prevention and control of diabetes will be a top priority for the state government's annual brainstorming session (chintan shivir) in Kevadia this month, according to official sources. All ministers and top bureaucrats will be present at the session.
Various strategies will be discussed, including creating awareness in villages and upgrading public health infrastructure across the state to handle diabetes and related complications. The strategy will have to include preventive and curative measures, an official said.
Diabetes measuring devices
All primary and community health centers will be equipped with diabetes measuring devices, and the government is also considering conducting a state-wide medical screening of school students. "This is because of the increasing rate of diabetes among children and youngsters," the official said.
Health department officials said that during and even after the Covid-19 pandemic, diabetes was reported to have caused many complications among the patients. "It was Covid-19 that taught us to see diabetes as a public health issue, while it was previously dismissed as a lifestyle problem due to the high intake of people in the state," said one official.
