Mumbai: People suffering from non-communicable diseases is increasing across the state. According to the data provided by the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), cases related to diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased by 160 per cent in the last five years in Maharashtra.
Senior health officials said the number has increased due to better screening and more people coming forward for treatment from the rural parts of the state.
As per statistics, in 2014-15, 62,029 people were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, which rose to 84,849 in 2015-16 and the number increased in 2017-18 to 1,27,199. Nearly 1,62,010 people were diagnosed with diabetes, which was the highest in 2018-19.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), almost half of all deaths attributable to high blood glucose occur before the age of 70 year. WHO estimates that diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in 2016.
An official from DHS said they have also started a door-to-door screening for which they have tied up with ASHA workers to screen people in the rural areas.
“The number increased because more people have come forward to report. In 2018-19, over one crore people were screened across the state, including major cities like Pune, Mumbai and Nagpur.
We even learned that the cases of diabetes are growing in the rural parts of the state. So, we have focused more to diagnose residents from the rural patches,” said Dr Sadhana Tayade, Director, DHS.
India already has the highest number of adult diabetes cases (20 million) worldwide and this number is expected to rise to 57 million by 2020. Although, there is less data on type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents in India, these cases are waiting to declare in a large number.
Health experts and diabetologists said that irregular lifestyle is making people more vulnerable to the non-communicable disease, due to which cases are increasing every year. Moreover, children are becoming prone to type 2 diabetes.
“The trend has changed in the last 10 years as it has effected the younger generation below 30 years. This is happening due to the unhealthy lifestyle, consumption of junk food, irregular sleeping pattern and lack of physical activities,” said Dr Manish Motwani, Consultant Bariatric Surgery at Hinduja Hospital.
