Over 70 thousand children suffered from diabetes in 2015: Govt

New Delhi:Over 70,000 children between the age of 0-14 years were suffering from diabetes in 2015, the government today said.

"As informed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), International Diabetes Federation estimates the number of children (0-14 years) suffering from Type-1 diabetes as 70,200 in India in 2015.

"For persons aged 20 years and above, the estimates are 66.8 million in 2014 as against 61.3 million persons in 2011," Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

He said the ICMR is conducting a study--ICMR INDIAB involving states and UTs-- for both urban and rural populations for ascertaining the exact number of diabetes patients.

He said 15 states have been covered so far and the prevalence of diabetes varies from 4.3 per cent in Bihar to 13.6 per cent in Chandigarh while the prevelence of pre- diabetes various from 5.8 per cent in Mizoram to 14.6 per cent in Chandigarh and Tripura.

The ICMR has also initiated 'Registry of people with diabetes in young age onset in India' with the objective to understand the natural history of disease, complications and management practice patterns among youth.

"So far data on 5,546 people with youth onset diabetes from eight centres across the country reported 40 per cent of youth onset diabetics," he said.

He said the government is implementing the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) for interventions for upto district level under the National Health Mission.