A revisit to prevailing care and challenges of managing diabetes in India: Focus on regional disparities

An unprecedented rise in diabetes mellitus (DM) prevalence in India is the outcome of lifestyle changes in the background of genetic predisposition. Moreover, there are substantial regional variations in diabetes prevalence and management. The highest prevalence of DM was observed in southern region (Ernakulum, Kerala) and lowest prevalence was observed in North Eastern region (Manipur). Similarly large variations have been evident in overall awareness and diabetes care across the geographies within India. The regional challenges are largely affected by poor disease awareness, socioeconomic disparity and underutilization of the public health-care services. Though government has taken initiatives to address this issue, overall situation demands a collaborative effort from patients, health care professionals and the state. An exhaustive literature search was performed for articles and studies published on electronic databases. Present article assesses the regional disparity of diabetes epidemiology, current management practices and government policies for T2DM in India, identifies policy and research gaps, and suggests corrective measures to address the lacunae in diabetes care.