Sri Lanka reports highest rate of diabetes in Asia – study

A national study conducted by local researchers has revealed that Sri Lanka has the highest rate of diabetes in Asia, with almost one in four adults having being diagnosed.

The survey, done in 2019 by researchers from several local universities, the Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Colombo and the Institute for Health Policy (IHP), was the first national survey of diabetes in Sri Lanka that used the gold standard method of an oral glucose tolerance test to diagnose diabetes.

Results of the study, which were published this week in the London-based British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open Diabetes Research and Care, revealed that almost one in four Sri Lankan adults (23%) had diabetes, while another one in three (31%) had high blood sugar levels.

Meanwhile, the results also showed that almost two in five persons with diabetes (38%) have not been diagnosed.

The findings also indicated that geographically, the highest number of cases were reported in the Western Province , with as many as one in three cases (34%) being reported from Colombo, while Jaffna and some other parts of the Northern and Eastern Provinces also reported high numbers.

“These findings indicate that Sri Lanka has the highest rate of diabetes in Asia, and in fact one of the highest in the world, since there are only a few countries – some small Pacific Islands and places like Egypt and the Gulf states – with higher rates”, Dr. Ravi Rannan-Eliya, Executive Director of IHP and the lead investigator of the study, said.

He further urged all persons to maintain healthy diets, and healthy weights and that they get tested on a regular basis, adding that the study further showed that diabetes develops at lower body weighs in Sri Lankans than in Europeans, with one in five locals (21%) of normal body weight having diabetes, while over one million Sri Lankans remain unaware of the fact that they have the disease.

Dr. Rannan-Eliya noted, however, that despite these efforts, it is inevitable 
that millions of Sri Lankans will develop diabetes in the next few decades.

“That’s a reality our health system is going to have to deal with for many years to come. At a time when many diabetes patients are struggling to obtain their medicines, this really underlies the importance of raising taxes in the long-term to properly fund the Ministry of Health medicines budget so that everyone can have access to the needed treatment”, he said, commenting on the severity of the issue amidst Sri Lanka’s political, economic, financial and medical crises.