ABSTRACT
Diabetes is a major public health disease globally. About 6.6% (285 million people) of the world’s population is affected by diabetes mellitus (DM), and according to the International Diabetes Federation, this number is expected to increase to 380 million by 2025.1 Nearly 80% of people with diabetes are in developing countries, mainly India and China. India tops the list with 40.9 million diabetics (followed by China with 39.8 million) and is called the diabetes capital of the world.2 India constitutes about 15% of the global burden of diabetes. By 2025, this number is expected to be 70 million. Every fth diabetic in the world is an Indian. The rst phase of a national study to determine the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose and/or impaired glucose tolerance) in India estimated that in 2011, Maharashtra would have 6 million individuals with diabetes, Tamil Nadu 4.8 million, Jharkhand 0.96 million, and Chandigarh 0.12 million.3
