Survey finds nearly 15 percent of Vasai youth below 25 years of age are diabetic

PALGHAR, VASAI: According to the results of several tests conducted on random youth in Vasai city by the St Mary Advance Care Hospital (SMACH), nearly 15 percent of youth below the age of 25 are diabetic and nearly another 20 percent are pre-diabetic.

Dr Pranav Kabra (MD, Physician – St Mary Advance Care Hospital)

This means that in the next 10 years or so, a minimum of 30 to 35 percent of middle-aged persons in the city will be suffering from diabetes, opines Dr Pranav Kabra, diabetologist and cardiologist with the SMACH.

The private hospital at Parnaka near Zenda Bazar in Vasai city conducted tests for diabetes, hypertension and depression among more than 800 youth and after analysing and data mining the results, found that about 25-30 percent of the youth tested were either already diabetic or were pre-diabetic or suffering from either depression or hypertension.

Dr Pranav Kabra along with his team at the St Mary Advance Care Hospital located at Hathi Mohalla in Vasai West who conducted the tests said most of the youth who showed signs of diabetes were in the age group of 22 to 26 years and there were an almost equal number of males and females in the random test group across Vasai city.

According to the findings of the survey and tests conducted over the last one week, more and more youth even in smaller cities or towns are susceptible to diabetes, hypertension and depression.

“We found 2-3 youth as young as 20-21 years of age who were pre-diabetic or prone to hypertension. Each individual was subjected to several medical tests like HbA1c, Random Blood Sugar, CBC and others before concluding that they were either diabetic or pre-diabetic,” said Dr Kabra.

The individuals tested were from Tam Talao, Papdy, Holi, Giriz, Manickpur and other localities of Vasai, the hospital said.

The incidence of pre-diabetes in youngsters in very high and is not restricted to only places like Mumbai and Delhi. Residents of smaller town and cities are also recording incidence of pre-diabetes at alarmingly younger ages.

The St Mary Advance Care Hospital is organising free medical camps in the city to encourage youth and senior citizens alike to come forward and get tested for various lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in several references has stated that India is the diabetes capital of the world, after overtaking China and has a staggering number of pre-diabetic patients.

The SMACH is offering residents of Vasai, over 100 medical, diagnostic and pathological tests completely FREE, during a special medical awareness camp over the next 15 days.

The next free mass-testing camp will be held in the premises of Our Lady of Remedy Church, Holi in Vasai on 20th May. In addition to advanced tests like LFT (Liver Function Test) or CBC, basic tests for blood pressure (BP), RBS (random blood sugar), BMI, etc., will be done for all attending the weekend camp over the next two weeks. Preference is given to senior citizens and youth, Dr Kabra said.

According to a media statement issued by the hospital, the free testing service is being offered to all residents of Vasai to study the incidence of diabetes, hypertension and depression among youth between the age group of 21 to 30 years. Everyone is encouraged to avail of the free testing facility to find out if they are pre-diabetic or have any diabetes-related possibilities.

“With our advance testing models, we can predict if a 25-year-old youth has any existent issues or symptoms that could lead to diabetes say after 10 or 20 years, when he is 40 or 45 years old, said Dr Kabra, adding that it is a social service for the benefit of the residents of Vasai.