Diabetes-free life in India: Application of survival function analysis

Background:India being a diverse country has an assortment of various socio-economic and demographic structures. These socio-economic and demographic factors often intervene with the diabetes-free survival in any geographical region. The present study explores diabetes-free survival patterns of adult respondents with respect to various socio-economic and demographic factors in eighteen states of India with better demographic indicators. Material and Methods:The study utilizes data from the fourth round of the District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS) undertaken during 2012–2013. The study computes the survival functions by five year age groups followed by Peto and Pike's test for assessing the significant differences in the survival pattern between the various sub-groups in 18 states of India. Results:The study points out that the diabetes-free survival of a respondent is affected by factors such as the place of residence, sex, social group, the standard of living (wealth) index, and region of residence. Conclusions:Timely detection, screening, and treatment of non-communicable diseases, as well as palliative care, are recommended to the community for diabetes prevention. A healthy lifestyle including healthy diet, physical activity on regular basis, and avoiding tobacco needs to be promoted.