Pati, Patni aur woes: Don’t hide diabetes

As if other pressures weren’t enough to break modern-day marriages, more and more Delhi couples are parting ways due to the diagnosis of insulin dependent type-I diabetes, reports Rhythma Kaul.

As if other pressures weren’t enough to break modern-day marriages, more and more Delhi couples are parting ways due to the diagnosis of insulin dependent type-I diabetes, reveals a recent study conducted by the Delhi Diabetes Research Centre (DDRC).

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“The day diabetes is diagnosed to any member, the whole family gets involved in it. The initial reaction is that of panic, which is the cause of all trouble,” said Dr Ashok Jhingan, head of DDRC.

People are aware of it and that’s why if a person is detected diabetes before marriage, in most cases, there’s a tendency to not reveal it to the prospective partner and in-laws. And later when the partner and in-laws come to know about the disease post-marriage, they desert the victim, found the doctors over a prolonged period of studying the diabetic cases in the capital.

Management of diabetes is just not about drugs, it involves tremendous support of family and friends as it is challenging not just for the patient but also for those living around the patient.

The DDRC study, which spread across 2 years, involving 15 primary physicians and 650 diabetics found that the percentage of patients undergoing glycated haemoglobin tests (HbA1c), a test to check average sugar levels over past three months, increased from 15 per cent to 38 per cent. The DDRC has come up with a unique concept of inviting volunteers to make diabetic patients and their family and friends aware of the common problems that such people encounter. Interestingly, these volunteers will themselves be diabetic patients who have managed themselves well and fighting the disease in a positive way.

“In a country like ours, where the resource structure is limited, calling volunteers to offer tips to needy is a significant step,” said Dr Jhingan. There will be a workshop for the purpose on July 27 at the centre.