Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and role of stress in diabetes in rural Pondicherry – An union territory of India

Background: Prevalence of diabetes is increasing in India. So, to measure prevalence of diabetes mellitus and association of stress with diabetes study was conducted. Methods: Cross-sectional study was done on1403 subjects above 25 years from 2 villages of Puducherry. Fasting blood glucose was measured. Those with >126 mg/dl were subjected for Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. A case control study was done for stress component. The stress was measured using Presumptive Stressful Life Events. Results: The Period prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) was 5.8%. Of the 71 cases, 31 were newly diagnosed. The response rate was (88%). Stress was associated with DM (OR, 8). Conclusions: Study reported high prevalence of DM. Almost half the diabetes is hidden in community. Stress is an important risk factor for development of diabetes. Key words: Diabetes Prevalence, Rural India diabetes, stress, Presumptive Stressful Life Events