More youngsters get affected by Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes, caused due to defects in insulin action and dysfunction of a specific cell in the body, is emerging as a major health concern in India, according to experts. More youngsters are falling prey to the disease, which is normally seen among people over 40 years of age, they said today at a conference on 'Clinical Genomics'.

"Type 2 diabetes is found among majority of the diabetes patients. Now young people are suffering from this ailment. It poses a major health concern," Dwaipayan Bharadwaj, senior scientist at Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) told PTI after presenting a paper on the subject at the conference organised by CSIR and Sir Gangaram Hospital.

People suffer from Type 1 diabetes when there is little secretion of insulin, the element that uptakes glucose from blood into the cell. Type 1 diabetes is found among younger generations.

However, Type 2 diabetes is caused when despite heavy flow of insulin, there is no uptake of glucose from the blood.

"One suffers from Type 2 diabetes when there is defects in insulin action and dysfunction of Beta-cell which secrets and controls insulin," Rubina Tabassum, a researcher on Type 2 diabetes, said.

IGIB has started a study on genetic factors behind the Type 2 diabetes.

"We will find out the connections between the genetic variations and the disease. This will help to develop proper remedies for the disease," she said.

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