Stress major cause of diabetes, finds Delhi government study

Stress plays a clinically significant role in causing type-2 diabetes, a study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found.

Stress plays a clinically significant role in causing type-2 diabetes, a study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found.

The study conducted among 1,000 people — 500 diabetics and an equal number of non-diabetics — at the Delhi government-run Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital provided evidence and support for the fact that stress plays a major role in the development of diabetes.

“Through this comprehensive study on the development and prevention of type 2 diabetes conducted at our centre for over a period of three years, we have sufficiently concluded that people who lead more stressful life are at higher risk of developing diabetes mellitus,” said Dr SV Madhu, professor and head of the endocrinology and metabolism department of University College of Medical Sciences, who led the study during 2009- 2012.

“Diabetics showed high stress levels or had poor stress-coping skills or their body’s hormonal response was either on the higher side or altered,” Dr Madhu said.

The study was presented during the recent International Diabetes Federation.

The racial predisposition of Indians to diabetes and rapidly changing lifestyles have led to an alarming 77 million pre-diabetics. Of them, one-third may get end up getting diabetes if preventive strategies are not implemented.

Fifteen hundred high-risk people will be part of the Indian prevention of diabetes study over a period of three years, to scientifically prove the positive effects of yoga and fenugreek (methi) on preventing diabetes among those in the high-risk category.