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.
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.
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