74% in AP suffer from uncontrolled diabetes

A survey conducted on the prevalence of twin epidemic of diabetes and hypertension among populations in several cities across eight states by Aventis Pharma Limited (of Sanofi Group) suggests Andhra Pradesh not only surpasses other states in terms of prevalence of these two diseases but is also vulnerable in terms of ignorance and predisposition.

The French vaccine major released its findings on Monday which show that nearly 74 per cent of close to 1,900 patients screened in the state across Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada suffer from uncontrolled diabetes.

The study surveyed patients across 800 centres mainly in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, New Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the company stated in a press release.

The survey is Sanofi’s first cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed cases of diabetes and hypertension using a sample size of nearly 16,000 patients who visit general practitioners and consulting physicians in major Indian cities, it said.

Bipin K Sethi, one of the coordinators of the study, said: “The Sanofi Site Andhra Pradesh data reveals that diabetes and hypertension are indeed becoming a twin epidemic in the state, with 24 per cent of those surveyed suffering from both diseases. Further, in nearly 9 per cent of the newly diagnosed cases the patients did not know that they had diabetes. Shockingly, even amongst the diabetics undergoing treatment, 74 per cent were uncontrolled”.