Time trends in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus: Ten year analysis from southern India (1994-2004) on 19,072 subjects with diabetes

Objective: To assess the time trends in the prevalence of diabetes at our Centre from 1994-2004 (N: 19,072 individuals) on the following parameters: age group, sex, rural or urban area and individuals with freshly diagnosed diabetes versus known diabetes Study Design and Setting: Analysis of data from electronic medical records at a referral Endocrine and Diabetes Centre in Southern India Methods: We have employed the period prevalence method and person-time risk to express the results. The concept of person-time risk can be estimated as the actual time-at-risk in years that all persons contributed to a study. The person-time can be estimated for each patient when a patient changed from diabetic free to diabetic patient. This can be captured for each patient from the variable onset of first diagnoses as a diabetic patient. Thus person-time is employed to derive information on the rate at which people acquire the disease. Results: Between 1994 and 2004 however there is an increasing trend in the number of individuals in the young, particularly the 18-34 year group. Similarly there is a steadily increasing pattern in both urban and rural areas; the number from rural areas tended to increase compared to urban areas. The number of women with diabetes tended to increase over the 10-year period Conclusion: Between 1994 and 2004 among persons with diabetes who presented at our Centre, there was a trend toward more number of younger persons, particularly women from rural areas.