2,000 Crores Worth Of Medicines To Control Diabetes: Kerala Suffering From Diabetes: Huge increase in sales of diabetes medicine in Kerala. According to All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association figures, diabetic drugs are now the second most sold drug in Kerala. 2,000 crores worth of drugs were bought by Kerala patients in one year only to control diabetes. This includes insulin and pills. 15,000 crores in drug sales. About 15 percent of these are diabetes control drugs. At the national level, it is 10 percent. (rise in anti-diabetic medicine sales in Kerala)
The assessment of the All Kerala Druggists and Pharmacists Association is that the sale of diabetes medicines will increase in the coming years in the whole country including Kerala. Because if you look at the number of diabetic patients, there are still more than 7.5 crores in the country. Two types of insulins, metformin+glimepiride, metformin+vildagliptin, and metformin+sitagliptin are the most commonly sold combination tablets. Statistics indicate that the number of diabetes patients will continue to increase if the lifestyle remains unchanged. Professor Dr. Ajay Balachandran, Department of Forensic Medicine, Amrita Medical College also underlines this.
It is said that 80% of patients’ diabetes is not under control even though the state spends a lot of money on medicines. There are many reasons for this. First is that patients do not acquire proper knowledge about diabetes. Improper administration of insulin, and improper intake of medicine, all-cause diabetes to some extent. In Kerala alone, one in four people has diabetes. Moreover, if diabetes used to affect the elderly, now diabetes is also seen in children. Statistics also indicate the shocking fact that 27% of people between the ages of 10 and 30 are suffering from diabetes.
Diabetes drugs are second and heart disease drugs are first. Another fact is that complications of diabetes are one of the leading causes of heart disease in Kerala.
Even globally, it is said that there are 42.2 crore, people, with diabetes, and 15 lakh deaths in 2019 are due to diabetes. Similarly, the International Diabetes Federation records that the death of diabetes in 2021 is 67 lakh. It is said that by 2030 it will rise to 643 million and by 2045 it will reach 783 million. In any case, experts say that there are no other easy ways to reduce the disease other than changing the lifestyle. Diabetes can be reduced to some extent by avoiding excessive sugary foods, eating foods rich in meat and fiber, adopting a low-starch diet, exercising regularly, drinking plenty of water, and sleeping well. Early symptoms of diabetes include excessive hunger and thirst, sudden weight loss, blurred vision, frequent urination, extreme fatigue, and frequent infections.
