Many Indians are not going for testing because they’re afraid they might have diabetes, according to a new survey commissioned by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), which estimates that 38.6 million adults in the country have diabetes but not yet been diagnosed.
One-third said that they were deterred from screening by concerns about their test results. Forty-eight percent of respondents said they do not know how to schedule a diabetes test.
Although most of those surveyed had risk factors for type 2 diabetes, only 14% of them felt they were prone to develop it. The survey was conducted on 502 adults in India and was a part of a six-country poll conducted on 2,411 adults.
The findings also revealed misconceptions about the condition: 75% of Indian respondents incorrectly believed that prediabetes usually causes noticeable symptoms.
“We cannot fill this diagnosis gap in India simply by waiting for people to come forward,” said Dr Banshi Saboo, chairman of the IDF South-East Asia Region. “What we can do is create community campaigns, conduct local checkups at pharmacies and run all-day clinics to reach out to more people for screening.”
The IDF has announced the results prior to World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14, stressing the importance of early detection and treatment.
