ICMR issues guidelines for Type 1 Diabetes amid surge in Covid-19 cases

At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected people with diabetes, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday released a guidance document for the management of type 1 diabetes.

The first nationwide diabetes prevalence study, funded by the ICMR, reported a narrowing of urban rural difference in the burden of diabetes. As per the study, the disease has becoming apparent in the age group of 25–34 years in both urban and rural areas.

According to ICMR study, more and more children are being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in India.

The document is a compilation of different chapters on type 1 diabetes dealing right from the epidemiology and diagnosis and differential diagnosis of type 1 diabetes to lifestyle, diet and exercise, insulin, monitoring, acute complications, microvascular complications, and more.

According to ICMR report, lifestyle management  plays an essential role in managing type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Understanding the effect of diet and physical activity on glycemia is essential for optimal management of T1DM.

The study said all children and adults with T1DM require insulin as soon as they are diagnosed and continuously thereafter throughout life.

In monitoring metabolic control, Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) trial provides evidence that achieving good glycemic control in the initial years of T1DM results in reduced incidence of macrovascular and microvascular complications.

According to ICMR report, diabetes was responsible for over four million deaths in 2019 globally and was the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease, adult-onset blindness and cardiovascular diseases. Recent estimates from the International Diabetes Federation suggest that India has the highest number of incident and prevalent cases of type 1 diabetes in the world.