Practo, an integrated healthcare company based in Bengaluru, witnessed a substantial increase of 1200 per cent in the number of diabetes queries since last year. While metro cities witnessed 5x growth in diabetes-related queries in the last one year, the number stood at a staggering 20x growth in non-metro cities for the same time period.  

80 per cent of all diabetes-related queries on Practo in the last one year came between March and October, indicating growing awareness of diabetes and its complications after the onset of the pandemic. Some of the most discussed queries include ‘Impact of COVID-19 on diabetic patients’ and ‘Gestational diabetes among pregnant women’, given the lack of clarity on how COVID-19 affects pregnancy.

Furthermore, the queries were from people across age groups, including those above the age of 60.

According to the Practo Health Insights (Nov 2019 - Oct 2020)-

• Online consultation witnessed a 1200 per cent increase from last year in the number of queries for diabetes as compared to 300 per cent the year before
• 72 per cent of all diabetes-related consults came from men 
• Amongst women, 40 per cent of the consults were from the age group of 21 - 30 followed by women in the age group of 31-40 (27 per cent) and those aged 60 & above(22 per cent). 
• 70 per cent of all diabetes-related queries came from metro cities, recording a growth of 20x since last year
• 30 per cent of the queries were from non-metro cities, which grew 5x since last year
• Most of the queries were from Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata 
• In non-metro cities, most of the queries came from Lucknow, Visakhapatnam, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur and Secunderabad 
• Top searches include diabetes symptoms and causes, diabetes management, treatment for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, storage and usage of Insulin, gestational diabetes, and the impact of COVID-19 on diabetic patients
• Around 16 per cent of all diagnostic tests conducted on Practo were for diabetes

Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Healthcare Strategy Officer, Practo, said, “Patients are now empowered to consult doctors, book tests, order medicines, ask doubts/queries seamlessly, at the click of a button.” 

The ninth edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas has estimated that nearly 134 million Indians will be diabetic in the next 25 years.