Diabetes research project has got many takers, enrolment increases by 33 per cent

Young diabetes patients exercise in a gym at a clinic in Mumbai. Pic/AFP

A city hospital's ongoing research on Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, has recorded enrolment at 33 per cent since the project began months before the Covid-19 pandemic. The main objective of the project is to research, treat, manage and find a cure for T1D1 diabetes. It is manned by three consulting endocrinologists, two project coordinators, one nurse educator, one counsellor and one dietician.

PD Hinduja Hospital, along with Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, and KEM, Pune, with funding from Hinduja Foundation, started this research and treatment project in November 2019. Till now, the project has enrolled more than 550 patients across three centres. Dr Phulrenu Chauhan, consultant endocrinologist, PD Hinduja Hospital, said, "With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in the blood. Type 1 diabetes is the most common chronic disease in children and adolescents, but does not receive the attention it requires."

She said the project enrols Type 1 diabetes patients who are under 18 years of age and come from financially-weaker backgrounds. "These patients will be provided free treatment for five years, which includes regular consultation by endocrinologists, ophthalmologists and diabetes foot specialist. Patients are also being provided free lab tests, insulin and glucometres," added Dr Chauhan.

She said the patients enrolled in all three centres have shown a mark of improvement in HbA1C levels. "For instance, over the course of six months, the average HbA1C value recorded in patients at Hinduja Hospital has dropped from 9.4 per cent during their first visit to 9.2 per cent in their third visit," said Dr Chauhan, who added that the incidence of Type 1 diabetes has increased across the globe.

"While it was not so common two decades ago, now, we have started seeing more children getting diagnosed with this medical condition. It is a traumatic and expensive ailment. Hinduja Foundation along with the department of endocrinology had decided to help and support financially-weaker children," she said.

Hinduja Hospital has also been collaborating with ICMR for periodic research on diabetes in young adults since 2009 and it has been found that India has three new cases of T1/100,000 children of 0-14 years. Around 78,000 children under 15 years are estimated to develop Type 1 annually worldwide. Of the existing 4,90,000 children living with this disorder, 24 per cent are in the European region and 23 per cent in the South-East Asian region. India accounts for most of the children with Type 1 in South-East Asia.