Geographic Variation and Associated Covariates of Diabetes Prevalence in India

IMPORTANCE: Diabetes is a severe metabolic disorder affecting human health worldwide, with increasing prevalence in low- and middle-income countries. Gaps in knowledge regarding factors that lead to diabetes and its association with tuberculosis (TB) endemicity at the national scale still exist, mainly because of the lack of large-scale dual testing and appropriate evaluation methods. OBJECTIVES: To identify locations in India where diabetes prevalence is concentrated, examine the association of diabetes with sociodemographic and behavioral covariates, and uncover where high regional TB endemicity overlaps with diabetes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study included 803 164 men aged 15 to 54 years and women aged 15 to 49 years who participated in the Demographic Health Survey (2015-2016), carried out by the India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare using a 2-stage clustered sampling, which included a diabetes estimation component. The survey was conducted from January 2015 to December 2016, and data analysis was conducted from July 2018 to January 2019. EXPOSURES: Self-reported diabetes status. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Self-reported diabetes status was used to estimate the association of covariates, including educational level, sex, age, religion, marital status, alcohol use, tobacco use, obesity status, and household socioeconomic level, with diabetes prevalence. Additionally, regional tuberculosis endemicity level, estimated using the India TB report for 2014 from the Revised National TB Program, was included to evaluate the national extent of the spatial overlap of diabetes and TB. RESULTS: Among 803 164 sampled individuals (691 982 [86.2%] women; mean [SD] age, 30.09 [9.97] years), substantial geographic variation in diabetes prevalence in India was found, with a concentrated burden at the southern coastline (cluster 1, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: prevalence, 3.01% [1864 of 61 948 individuals]; cluster 2, Tamil Nadup and Kerala: prevalence, 4.32% [3429 of 79 435 individuals]; cluster 3, east Orissa: prevalence, 2.81% [330 of 11 758 individuals]; cluster 4, Goa: prevalence, 4.43% [83 of 1883 individuals]). Having obesity and overweight (odds ratio [OR], 2.44; 95% CI, 2.18-2.73; P < .001; OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.52-1.82; P < .001, respectively), smoking tobacco (OR, 3.04; 95% CI, 1.66-5.56; P < .001), and consuming alcohol (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.37-2.95; P < .001) were associated with increased odds of diabetes. Regional TB endemicity and diabetes spatial distributions showed that there is a lack of consistent geographical overlap between these 2 diseases (eg, TB cluster 4: 60 213 TB cases; 186.79 diabetes cases in 20 183.88 individuals; 0.93% diabetes prevalence; TB cluster 8: 47 381 TB cases; 180.53 diabetes cases in 22 449.18 individuals; 0.80% diabetes prevalence; TB cluster 9: 37 620 TB cases, 601.45 diabetes cases in 12 879.36 individuals; 4.67% diabetes prevalence). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, identifying spatial clusters of diabetes on the basis of a nationally representative survey suggests that India may face different levels of disease severity, and each region might need to implement control strategies that are more appropriate for its unique epidemiologic context.