Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus in Indian Tribal Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: There is an increasing trend in the prevalence of diabetes worldwide. India has the largest number of patients with diabetes in the world, accounting for more than 50 million participants. There are limited studies on diabetes awareness, attitude, and prevalence in tribal communities. Objective: The objective of the study was to estimate the burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) in tribal populations of India. Method: A literature search of Pub Med and Google Scholar databases from 2000 to 2019 using the Medical Subject Heading – prevalence, non-communicable diseases, diabetes, tribal, and adult population, India, was conducted. Out of the total 38 published studies which reported the prevalence of diabetes in Indian tribal population, 21 were included in the review. Data Extraction: All the data were extracted by the investigators using a standardized protocol and data collection form. Results: Total 21 studies with the sample size varying from 101 to 8000 were included in the review. The reported prevalence of DM in tribal populations varied from 0.7% to 13.9% in different regions and states of India. Final estimate of diabetes prevalence obtained after pooling of data from individual studies was 5.7% (95% CI; 5.4%–6.0%). Conclusion: The prevalence of DM in Indian tribal population is as high as in other urban and rural populations and needs preventive measures to control the problem. Key words: Diabetes mellitus, prevalence, systemic review, tribal population