Biography
Biography: Arun Gowda
Abstract
Recent International Diabetes Federation (IDF) update depicts that globally there are 387 million people with diabetes and 77% of this population belongs to low and middle-income countries. This number is predicted to increase in the next 20 years to 592 million which also include diabetes in pregnancy (DIP). Especially, women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and their children are at increased risk of future diabetes. In India, GDM prevalence has steadily increased from 2% (1982) to 7.62% (1991) and doubled to 16.55% in 2002. However, based on the geographical locations and diagnostic methods used the prevalence ranged from 3.8 to 21%.There was a research gap identified to understand this burden in the country.
Hence, an analysis was performed on existing country-specific DIP research in India and compared to the research done in the United States of America (USA).
The IDF’s 2000-2035 estimates show that the diabetes prevalence in India has and will increase steadily: in comparison, the USA has shown a decrease in 2011. Through an elaborate search on PubMed it was found that a total of 129 articles had been published on DIP from 1947 to 2014 in India, less than a tenth of the 2412 articles published from 1972 to 2014 in USA. Therefore, this analysis indicates a clear need for greater study on Indian specifics.
Although, worldwide there are many ongoing studies to address the growing burden of diabetes in terms of health, economy and social well-being, there is a need for further research in India. It was concluded that despite the increasing diabetes prevalence in India there are insufficient research to know the actual facts and figures to gauge the disease impact. Focus in this area towards further research would contribute valuable information for better management of DIP in India and to facilitate rational allocation of limited resources, thereby improving healthcare access.