SITE Study revealed 60% Indian suffer from the Twin Ailments-Diabetes and Hypertension

A study on the twin ailments, diabetes and hypertension, called Screening India's Twin Epidemic (SITE) conducted by Aventis Pharma Limited, Sanofi Group were published on 7 November 2011. Sanofi, tested almost 16,000 people living in urban cities across eight states over the last three years. Patients walking into general practitioners' clinics for complaints other than diabetes and hypertension were tested.

The study assessed people on three parameters: if their levels of glycated haemoglobin were under 7, if their blood pressure was less than 130/80 and their levels of bad cholesterol less than 100 mg/dl. Epidemics fed by obesity and non-vegetarianism

According to the study, one in every five Indian adults living in urban cities suffers not only from hypertension but also diabetes. 60%, or three out of every five Indians, have either diabetes or hypertension or both. The data also revealed that 26 per cent of the hypertension patients suffer from kidney complications.

Findings in Maharashtra

The corresponding figure in Maharashtra, at 67%, is worse. In Maharashtra, more disturbingly, one in three persons is struck by the twin epidemic. In particular, almost 40% of those tested in Maharashtra had diabetes. The only parameter where Maharashtra performed better than the all-India average was in the level of awareness: if 7% of those tested in the eight states put together didn't know they had these diseases, in Maharashtra it was 5%.

Casues behind the Surge

Study to find prevalence of diabetes & hypertension discovered that 80% people had abdominal obesity. Obesity, the study noted was responsible for the surging number of diabetic patients. Almost 80% of the people studied had abdominal obesity or a waist circumference of over 90 cm. The study also found that one of the driving forces was the rising trend of non-vegetarianism along with the old cause of excess salt in diet.

While the average American consumes 4 to 6 grams of salt a day, Indians had almost 6 to 8 grams a day.

Challenges

According to medical experts, the biggest challenge that people were unaware of the disease in them. The SITE study, for instance, found that 7.2% of those tested didn't know they had diabetes or hypertension. 18.4% of those tested had a condition called pre-diabetes.

The study also has disclosed that in 9 per cent of the newly diagnosed cases, patients did not know that they had diabetes. Among hypertensive patients, 83 per cent did not have their condition under control.