Fifth of India's population suffers from diabetes and hypertension

More than a fifth of India's  1.2 billion population suffers from diabetes and hypertension.

The overall incidence of diabetes was 20.3 per cent and that of hypertension 22.2 per cent, according to a government study conducted across 26 states and Union Territories in India.

The National Family Health Survey-4 findings were released on Tuesday.

The study, the first of its kind conducted by the Indian government, collected data from 6,000,000 households, covering 7,000,000 women and 1,000,300 men.

Some of the states where the incidence of diabetes was found to be higher than the national average include Goa (33.7 per cent), West Bengal (28.2 per cent), Assam (34.6 per cent) and Odisha (27.2 per cent). States with a higher incidence of hypertension include Punjab (35 per cent), Sikkim (44.8 per cent) and Maharashtra (26 per cent).

The study was conducted between 2015 and 2016.

Diabetes and hypertension

Diabetes is a disease in which the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and elevated levels of glucose in the blood.

While hypertension also known as high blood pressure is a long term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated

source : gulfnews