The standard of care for glycaemic management in youth and adults with Type 1 diabetes is an automated insulin delivery (AID) system, Banshi Saboo, Chairman of the International Diabetes Federation – South East Asia, said.
He was delivering the inaugural “Professor M. Viswanathan Centenary Award and Oration” on “Managing Type 1 Diabetes – Current Status and Beyond” on Saturday.
Dr. Saboo highlighted the need to scale up adoption of AID systems and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in India. He said India leads the world with 301,000 children and adolescents under 20 years affected by type 1 diabetes. He noted there were challenges such as disparities in the quality of healthcare and access to drugs and technology in India.
The goal, he said, was good control, prevention of diabetic ketoacidosis and severe hypoglycemia. Intensive control means fewer complications. Stressing the importance of CGM, he said it was available but costly, and if produced in India, it would be available for less price. He called for the creation of type 1 diabetes registry at the State and district levels and to address gaps in affordability and accessibility, and the need for awareness.
Outlining the health initiatives of the State government, A. Somasundaram, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said screening for hypertension and diabetes is done at houses, primary health centres, health sub centres and government hospitals. “Now, we are screening for complications. Under “Padham Padhukappom Thittam”, neuropathy screening is done, while under “Siruneeragam Padhukappu Thittam”, urine samples from vulnerable patients are tested and those with suspected complications are referred to government hospitals,” he said.
There could be collaborations for training to enable primary healthcare physicians and nurses to screen more people and understand the nuances of diabetes and its complications. He said the prevalence of gestational diabetes is eight to 10% but current detection rates were one to two per cent. “Under the gestational diabetes programme, we want to detect more,” he added.
The oration was organised by M.V. Diabetes and Professor M. Viswanathan Diabetes Research Centre. Head and chief physician of M.V. Diabetes and president of Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India Vijay Viswanathan was present, along with dean S.N. Narasingan and associate dean Jayashree Gopal of the Professor M. Viswanathan Diabetes Research Centre.
Published – October 12, 2025 05:45 am IST
