A review of the epidemiology of diabetes in rural India.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the extent of problem of diabetes in rural India based on review of available literature and examine the secular trends over a period of 15 years i.e. from 1994 to 2009.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed using electronic as well as manual methods. Studies providing details of sample size, age group of participants, criteria used for diagnosis, along with the prevalence of any of the three outcomes of interest i.e. diabetes mellitus, impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), were included.

RESULTS

Analysis of secular trends reveals an increase in diabetes prevalence among rural population at a rate of 2.02 per 1000 population per year. The rate of increase was high in males (3.33 per 1000 per year) as compared to females (0.88 per 1000 per year). High prevalence of IFG and IGT has been observed in southern and northern parts of the country.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of diabetes is rising in rural India. There is a large pool of subjects with IFG and IGT at high risk of conversion to overt diabetes. Population-level and individual-level measures are needed to combat this increasing burden of diabetes.