Prevalence of Lean Diabetes in West Bengal

Abstract

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus has increased exponentially over the past decade in India and globally. Much has been published on the characteristics of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its association with the epidemic of obesity. But relatively little is known about the incidence of lean diabetes, progression of disease and fate of the patients with low-normal body mass index. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of lean diabetes among diabetic individuals of three districts of West Bengal [Kolkata, Hooghly and 24 Pgs (N)].

A cross-sectional survey was carried out in three districts of West Bengal during January 2022 to August 2022, among adults aged 30-69 years. All diagnosed T2DM patients within a period of 5 years were included in the study. Lean diabetes was defined as nonketotic diabetes mellitus with a body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m². Among 66 subjects with diabetes, the proportion of lean diabetes was 14% (9 subjects) the mean age of lean diabetics is 48.50 ± 6.30.  Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels were found to be lower in lean diabetics as compared to diabetic individuals with BMI 18.5 - 22.9 or BMI>23.0. Among the lean diabetics, tobacco use is very high (67%) as well as 50% of them are required insulin therapy.

In conclusion, the prevalence of lean diabetes was high (14%) among the selected study population.