In a landmark step against one of India's most pressing health concerns, India has launched its first-ever diabetes biobank in Chennai. The initiative, a collaboration between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), is set to enhance the understanding, research, and treatment of diabetes in the country, with the second highest number of people with high blood sugar levels in the world.

This biobank, according to experts, comes at a crucial time as the country grapples with rising diabetes rates—especially among youngsters—and it promises to open new avenues for advanced scientific studies and personalized healthcare solutions.

According to statistics, there are over 10 crore diabetes cases and 13.6 crore prediabetes cases, some of the highest numbers in the world. Despite the widespread impact of the debilitating disease, experts say there is a lack of large-scale repositories of biological samples that could help study diabetes.

According to ICMR, the new biobank would be storing biological samples from across the country, which will help scientists study the genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that lead to high blood sugar levels.

This is expected to lead to improved treatments, better prevention strategies, and more targeted therapies for those affected.

At present, the biobank holds samples collected through two significant ICMR-funded studies, one of which ran from 2008 to 2020 and gathered data from over 1.2 lakh participants across all states and Union territories. This comprehensive study shed light on the widespread prevalence of diabetes and metabolic disorders in India.

The second initiative, the Registry of People with Diabetes in India with Young Age at Onset study, launched in 2006, focuses on diabetes diagnoses in younger individuals. This registry revealed concerning trends, with type 1 diabetes diagnosed at an average age of 12 years and type 2 diabetes at 21 years.

According to doctors, many type 2 diabetes cases are diagnosed late, with almost half of the patients already facing complications requiring hospitalization and life-long medication.

India has various biobanks dedicated specifically to advancing biomedical and health research in life-threatening and deadly diseases like cancer and liver diseases. Despite this, diabetes-specific biobanks are scarce, highlighting an urgent need given India’s high glucose levels.

Biobanks play a crucial role in biomedical research by offering high-quality biological materials that drive advancements in personalized medicine. They ensure efficient sample collection, storage, and reproducibility, enabling long-term and large-scale studies.

However, according to experts, they also face challenges like high operational costs, ethical concerns over consent and privacy, and logistical hurdles—which remain significant barriers.

According to the International Diabetes Federation, nearly 134 million Indians will develop diabetes by 2045; as a result, these people are more likely to experience heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, organ damage, and comas.

At present, there are several environmental and lifestyle changes happening in the country due to continuous industrialization, migration to urban areas, rising per capita spending, and a culture of eating out, which experts say has resulted in the consumption of food items with high-calorie/high-fat and high sugar.

Also, a sedentary lifestyle leads to obesity and an increase in visceral fat.

Additionally, there is mounting evidence that Indians have higher levels of insulin resistance and a stronger predisposition for diabetes.

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