Dr Jitendra Singh advocates mandatory blood sugar test for every pregnant woman

Union Minister of State, Dr Jitendra Singh who is also a renowned diabetologist, has advocated mandatory blood sugar tests for every pregnant woman, even if she does not have any symptoms. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the two-day 15th Annual Conference of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India (DIPSI 2021) virtually yesterday, Dr Singh said that diagnosis of diabetes is vital to prevent the disease in the young generation.

He said that any diagnostic criteria and procedure should be simple, doable, economical and evidence-based, and, in this aspect diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) with a ‘”Single Test Procedure” recommended by “Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India (DIPSI)” and endorsed by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is an affordable test to meet the requirement of all strata of society.

This test procedure has been approved by World Health Organization (WHO), the International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), informed the official release by the Ministry of Science and Technology.Dr Singh said that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has mandated screening of all pregnant women for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) as part of a routine International Diabetes Federationntenatal package according to the country’s 2014 national guidelines, but its real operationalization at the primary healthcare level is still suboptimal.

Dr Singh mentioned that that Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a rapidly escalating global public health problem with rising prevalence among all age groups. He said that, in India alone, GDM complicates nearly four million pregnancies annually.

The Minister said that the International Diabetes Federation (IDF 2019) has estimated that diabetes affects about 463 million people globally which is projected to increase to 642 million people by the year 2040.

In 2019, the global prevalence of Hyperglycemia in Pregnancy (HIP) in the age group of 20-49 years was estimated to be 20.4 million or 15.8 per cent of live births. They had some form of hyperglycemia in pregnancy, of which 83.6 per cent were due to GDM, which has emerged as a global public health problem.

The Union Minister of State said that as poor Glycemic control in GDM or HIP is a future risk for the development of Metabolic syndrome / Non-Communicable diseases (NCD) in the offspring born out of HIP, every effort has to be made to avert the rising burden of NCD by providing excellent care during gestation to reduce all the feto-maternal adverse outcomes associated with this condition.

Dr. Jitendra Singh also virtually released DIPSI 2021 Guidelines and a book penned by Professor V Seshaiah, founder patron, DIPSI.

(With inputs from ANI)

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