According to a survey conducted by market research firm IMRB and commissioned by world leader in diabetes care - Novo Nordisk, more than 60 per cent of the Indian urban public does not know that uncontrolled diabetes affects primary organs like heart, kidney and eyes.
The survey covered six cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangaluru and Ahmedabad) and 600 respondents between the ages 35 - 60. Half of the respondents had diabetes and half without diabetes. The survey which showed that almost half of respondents without diabetes (51 per cent) felt that they would never get diabetes and about one-fifth of the respondents regarded obesity as the primary cause of diabetes, while an equal number of them maintained that diabetes is predominantly inherited.
The survey also revealed that most (60 per cent respondents) feel that people become diabetic at the age of 35 - 50 years and more than half the respondents considered frequent urination and uncured wounds as the key symptoms of diabetes. Delhi was found to having highest (49 per cent) instances of family history of diabetes, while awareness levels about insulin was highest in Chennai. Awareness about the parts of the body that could be affected by diabetes is the lowest in Mumbai with almost 20 per cent of diabetics and 55 per cent of non-diabetics unable to answer this question. The survey also found that residents of Bangaluru are very conscious about physical exercise with about one third of them believing that lack of physical exercise is a major cause of diabetes. Consequently almost all the respondents (94 per cent) were following some kind of exercise regimen.
Significantly despite India having the largest population of people with diabetes in the world, more than 28 per cent of the respondents said that the possibility of an average Indian being affected by diabetes was low or negligible. The study also revealed that most people with diabetes were unaware that the HbA1C test is the right indicator of their blood glucose control with only 15 per cent mentioning it.
The results of the survey bring to light the lack of awareness among Indians despite India having the world's largest population of people with diabetes — 50.8 million as per the latest IDF statistics.
