Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes and associated risk factors: Evidence from the large-scale surveys in India

Abstract Context: India has observed the most devastating increases in the burden of diabetes in the contemporary era. However, so far, the comparable prevalence of diabetes is only available for limited geography. Aims: The present paper provides comparable estimates of diabetes prevalence in states and districts of India and examines the associated risk factors with newly diagnosed and self-reported diabetes. Setting and Design: The study uses clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical data from District Level Household and Facility Survey (2012–2013) and Annual Health Survey (2014). Subjects and Methods: The paper analyses the information on glucose level of the blood sample and defines diabetes as per the World Health Organization (1999) criteria. It applies multinomial logistic regression to identify the risk factors of diabetes. Results: The study estimates 7% adults with diabetes in India, with a higher level in urban (9.8%) than in the rural area (5.7%), a higher proportion of males (7.1%) than females (6.8%). Widowed, older persons, and persons with high blood pressure have very high risk of both diagnosed and self-reported diabetes. Comparing to Hindus, Muslims and Christians have higher, and Sikhs have less risk of diabetes. Further, corresponding to general caste, scheduled castes, and other backward classes have a high risk of newly diagnosed but the lower risk of self-reported diabetes. Conclusions: The list of districts and states with alarming diabetes prevalence is the valuable information for further programs and research. A significant population with undiagnosed diabetes reflects an urgent need to strengthen the diagnostics at the local level and for those who need them most.