Diabetes – It is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar. The hormone insulin moves sugar from the blood into your cells to be stored or used for energy. With diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t effectively use the insulin it does make.

One in six people with diabetes in the world is from India. Among the top 10 countries for people with diabetes, India is at number two with an estimated 77 million diabetics. There are an estimated 77 million cases of diabetes in the adult population of India. The prevalence in urban areas ranges between 10.9% and 14.2% and prevalence in rural India was 3.0-7.8% among the population aged 20 years and above with a much higher prevalence among individuals aged over 50 years. In a recent study conducted by National Urban Diabetes Survey (NUDS), the prevalence of diabetes in the southern part of India was found to be higher -13.5% among Chennai residents, in Bangalore, 12.4% and Hyderabad,16.6% than eastern India, 11.7% (Kolkata), northern India, 11.6% (New Delhi) and western India, 9.3% (Mumbai).12 Thus it is clear that in the last two decades, there has been a marked increase in the prevalence of diabetes among urban Indians, with a suggestion that Southern India has seen the sharpest increase.

Common reasons for the upsurge in diabetes percentage

Prediabetes – This is the time period when your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Early signs and symptoms of early diabetes – 

Frequent urination: If you’re visiting the toilet more often than usual, this means that your kidneys are trying to eliminate excess sugar from your blood.

Dry mouth or dry skin: Dehydration can make your mouth feel like a desert and make your skin feel tight or itchy. 

Increased appetite or unexplained weight loss: If your body is unable to get enough energy from processing the sugar in the food that you’re eating you may notice an unusual increase in your appetite or even sudden and unexplained weight loss. 

Pain or numbness in extremities: Nerve damage occurs in diabetic patients, due to high blood sugar and higher levels of fat. That can cause nerve damage. You might notice tingling in your hands and feet. 

Fruity, or sweet-smelling breath: When your body is trying to eliminate excess sugar, it can make your breath smell sweet because of high ketones.

Slow-healing cuts: High blood sugar levels can stiffen your blood vessels, which makes it harder for blood to move around your body. This makes slow healing of cuts and injuries. 

Fatigue or weakness: Extreme weakness, lethargy, or sleepiness can be signs that your blood sugar is out of whack. This can cause dizziness—or even fainting—if your blood sugar becomes dangerously high or low. Some people become so weak that they lose consciousness and are unable to regain consciousness again. This is sometimes referred to as a diabetic coma, and it can be a life-threatening complication. 

Extreme thirst: You lose a lot of water when you’re using the restroom all the time. That can lead to dehydration and trigger feelings of excessive thirst, which will likely lead to drinking more fluids (and going to the bathroom more).

Yeast infections: Yeast feeds on sugar. When there’s too much glucose circulating in your body, it can cause an overgrowth of yeast in men and women.

Vision changes: Changes in eyesight can be a precursor to diabetic eye disease. Untreated diabetes, or poorly managed diabetes, can lead to problems with vision, and even blindness.