Diabetes a silent killer, need to nip it in the bud, says Dr Bhansali

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, September 13

Sedentary lifestyle and poor dietary habits have triggered significant increase in the number of diabetic patients in the country in the past few years. Apart from treatment and medication, people also need to focus on leading a healthy lifestyle. Diabetes is an expensive disease. We have been conducting research to introduce cheaper medicine, said Dr Anil Bhansali, Head of the Department of Endocrinology, PGI, Chandigarh.

Dr Bhansali was speaking to Bathinda Tribune on the sidelines of MAPICON 2019 medical conference underway in the city. On being asked to share causes behind the increasing number of diabetic patients over the years, Dr Bhansali said: “Diabetes is a silent killer and to kill this silent killer, we have to nip it in the bud that is to say that we have to counter it at an early stage with early diagnosis/detection. With a change in dietary habits and sedentary lifestyle, annual screening (routine medical tests) has become paramount, especially for people in the age bracket of 40 and above. Early identification certainly helps to a great extent in not only taming the disease but also treating diabetic patients effectively.”

When asked about the high cost factor for treatment of diabetes, Dr Bhansali said: “Indeed, the treatment of diabetes is an expensive affair. On average, a severe diabetic patient needs to shell out more than Rs50,000 annually and in few critical cases it can mount up further. Although medicines are available on subsidised rates under the Jan Aushadhi scheme but we are also conducting research to introduce low cost (affordable) quality medicines.”

He added, “Increased fat and sugar consumption has led to diabetic problems among adults in the age group of 20-40 years. It’s high time that people cut down on their consumption of fast food and soft beverages which are the primary source of diabetes. These may be crispy and satiate your taste buds but excessive or routinely intake takes heavy toll on your body in the longer run. As per the findings of a survey conducted by ICMR-PGI, diabetes has increased manifold over the years in Chandigarh. Since, the disease cannot not be treated completely, we have been laying emphasis on its prevention.”