Dr Hamid Ashraf warns against substantial rise in type 2 diabetes

Aligarh : Dr. Hamid Ashraf, Associate Professor, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), delivered an oral presentation on the topic “Comparison of clinical features, complication profile, and achievement of guideline targets in early- and late-onset type 2 diabetes patients from North India”, at the national conference, Research Retreat, organised recently by the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India at Jaipur.

Dr. Ashraf said that due to the increase in the incidence of obesity, physical inactivity, the use of foods that are poor in nutrition but dense in energy, and increase in screen time has led to a rise in the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the younger population across the world.

He stated that the prevalence of diabetes in early life leads to prolonged exposure to hyperglycemia, increasing the risk of both micro- and macro-vascular complications later in life. Diabetes in the younger population also affects their productivity and social lives.

Presenting the data on 5000 patients who attended the OPD at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Dr. Ashraf pointed out that aapproximately one-third of these patients had the onset of their disease before reaching the age of 40. When compared with late-onset, early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus patients had a female preponderance, and three-fourths of the patients were from urban areas. Two-thirds (77%) of these patients were either overweight or obese.

He further said significantly higher proportion of patients achieved glycemic and blood pressure targets in the early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus group. The younger group had a higher weight and body mass index, a strong family history of diabetes, and more severe dyslipidemia. The comorbid conditions were significantly higher in the older age group.

Dr Ashraf stressed the need to educate children and young adults about the harms of physical inactivity, over-nutrition, obesity and increased screen time. He also talked about the need for more data and prospective studies to further characterize this subgroup of patients.