Diabetes care in India: A descriptive study

Context: Diabetes is a chronic illness that requires continuing medical care and patient self-management education to prevent and reduce the risk of long-term complications. It requires an array of investigations to provide an accurate picture of the condition and its management accordingly by a qualified doctor. Aims: This study was conducted to understand the treatment received by type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients from various categories of health care professionals and awareness about diabetes reversal by lifestyle modification and prevention of complications. Settings and Design: This was a community-based cross-sectional study. Subjects and Methods: The link of the semi-structured questionnaire in Google form with e-consent was sent to all members in the selected groups of "World free of obesity and diabetes" campaign on their personal WhatsApp account. Statistical Analysis Used: A total of 3082 participants were included, and the data obtained were analyzed using SPSS v26. Results: The mean age of the participants was 50.26 ± 9.78 years ranging from 18 to 81 years. A total of 35.8% of the study population was diabetic for 1-5 years. A total of 54.9% were started with antidiabetic medication on the same day of diagnosis. Only 1.5% of the patients had complete investigation profile for T2DM, 50.2% of the patients were briefed about hypoglycemia, and only 15.8% of the patients were checked for retinopathy. Conclusions: Most doctors, qualified as well as nonqualified, did not follow the standard guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and patient education regarding T2DM; therefore, it is necessary to train all medical practitioners regarding these guidelines. Diabetes reversal by lifestyle modification must be prescribed as the first line of treatment in patients with T2DM.