Raising Awareness of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Akluj, Maharashtra India's Rural Population

Abstract

India is often called the 'global diabetes capital,' and that title does stir up some debate. To get a clearer picture, we looked into how much folks in rural Maharashtra know about diabetes. We did a quick survey around Akluj town, talking to adults who don’t have diabetes yet. It was interesting to see that about 39% of the people were between 20 and 40 years old, a group that's increasingly at risk for type 2 diabetes. We also found a pretty strong connection (r² = 0.8) between someone’s income and their access to specialized healthcare. Surprisingly, only about 15% to 25% of those we talked to knew how important regular health check-ups are. Among people with family members who have type 2 diabetes, 40% showed at least two signs of metabolic issues. Even more surprising, 22% of people who’d never been to a doctor had similar signs. There was also a very close link (r² = 0.96) between how much people knew about different blood sugar testing methods and their education level. About half of them, roughly 52%, believed that eating too many sweets or sugar was the main cause of diabetes. The study emphasizes how important it is to get the word out about diabetes in as many ways as possible. If we do that, we might be able to reduce future health problems and ease the load on our healthcare system.