Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, a Diabetologist, has advocated mandatory blood sugar test for every pregnant woman, even if she does not have any symptoms. He said that diagnosis of diabetes is vital to prevent the disease in the young generation, at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day 15th Annual Conference of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India (DIPSI 2021), virtually.
Dr Singh is the Union Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; and MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space.
The minister said that any diagnostic criteria and procedure should be simple, doable, economical and evidence-based, and, in this aspect diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) with a ‘Single Test Procedure’ recommended by ‘Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India (DIPSI)’ and endorsed by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, is an affordable test to meet the requirement of all strata of society.
This test procedure has been approved by World Health Organization (WHO), International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF).
The Union Minister said that MoHFW has mandated screening of all pregnant women for GDM as part of the routine antenatal package according to the country’s 2014 national guidelines, but its real operationalization at the primary healthcare level is still sub optimal. Dr Singh mentioned that that GDM is a rapidly escalating global public health problem with rising prevalence among all age groups. He said that, in India alone, GDM complicates nearly four million pregnancies annually.
He added that the International Diabetes Federation (IDF 2019) has estimated that diabetes affects about 463 million people globally which is projected to increase to 642 million (64.20 crore) people by year 2040.
In 2019, the global prevalence of Hyperglycemia in Pregnancy (HIP) in the age group of 20-49 years was estimated to be 20.4 million or 15.8% of live births. They had some form of hyperglycemia in pregnancy, of which 83.6% were due to GDM, which has emerged as a global public health problem.
The Union Minister said that as poor Glycemic control in GDM or HIP is a future risk for the development of Metabolic syndrome or NCD in the offspring born out of the HIP, every effort has to be made to avert the rising burden of NCD by providing excellent care during gestation to reduce all the feto-maternal adverse outcomes associated with this condition. Dr Singh also virtually released DIPSI 2021 Guidelines and a book penned by Prof V Seshaiah, founder patron, DIPSI.
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