ORIGINAL ARTICLE Increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Maru Raika community of Rajasthan: a cross-sectional study Kush Purohit 1 & Hanwant Singh Rathore 2 & Ilse Köhler-Rollefson 2,3 Received: 8 April 2016 /Accepted: 7 November 2016 # Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India 2016 Abstract Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic meta- bolic disorder affecting increasing numbers of the global pop- ulation. Understanding dietary and lifestyle factors that influ- ence the risk of DM will allow us to develop better manage- ment strategies for this disease. Here, we aimed to assess the prevalence of PDM in the Raika pastoralist community of Rajasthan, India. This indigenous group has previously shown a 0% prevalence of DM, but we aimed to assess current prev- alence due to various lifestyle changes within the community. Three hundred fifteen adult Raika community members from different villages of the Jodhpur, Pali, and Sirohi districts of Rajasthan with no previous diagnosis of DM were selected for participation. Demographic and clinical profiles were obtain- ed. Fasting glucose (FG) and glucose tolerance (GT) tests were performed to diagnose prediabetes (PDM) and DM. Data was assessed using logistic regression in Stata/IC 14. We found prevalence of PDM and DM in the Raika commu- nity to be 15.87 and 1.27%, respectively. In the Maru Raika subcaste, we found significantly increased BMI (20.39 kg/m 2 vs 20.26%, p = 0.002) and PDM prevalence (19.05 kg/m 2 vs 11.73%, p = 0.038, respectively) when compared to the Godwar Raika subcaste. PDM prevalence has significantly increased in the Raika camel-herding community, and demo- graphic, dietary, and lifestyle changes in the traditional Raika camel herders may affect DM prevalence within this rural community. Keywords Diabetes mellitus . Prediabetes . Prevalence . Raika . Rajasthan . India Introduction Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease affecting approximately 8.8% of the global adult population (415 million individuals) and is associated with a $673 billion global economic burden [1]. DM is characterized by hyper- glycemia and insulin resistance, and can lead to severe cardio- vascular, metabolic, and renal dysfunction. For instance, dia- betic retinopathy, caused by chronic vascular damage due to hyperglycemia, afflicts approximately 21.7% of known dia- betics in some parts of urban India, contributing to India’s epidemic of blindness [2]. Since 1992, DM rates in India have been rising, with some studies documenting an alarming tri- pling of prevalence over the last 20 years in rural areas of the country as well [3–5]. Interestingly, diasporic Indians have been shown to have DM rates roughly 4–5 times greater than that of the native population, suggesting that the genetics of the Asian Indian population (such as a Bthrifty phenotype^) may be contributing to DM’s rise in India [6]. To prepare and localize the public health policies necessary to combat this rise in DM, characterizing the prevalence of prediabetes (PDM), a condition involving blood glucose levels slightly lower than those of DM patients, may be a useful tool. This is because studies have found that 25–30% of those with PDM, as diagnosed by impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and/or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), are likely to develop DM in the next 11 years [7]. Despite the utility of PDM prevalence, there is a scarcity of published research on * Kush Purohit KushPurohitPitt@gmail.com 1 152 Dillon Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15243, USA 2 Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, PO Box 1, District Pali, Sadri, Rajasthan 306702, India 3 League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock, Pragelatostrasse 20, 64372 Ober-Ramstadt, Germany Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries DOI 10.1007/s13410-016-0529-y