~ 36 ~ International Journal of Unani and Integrative Medicine 2018; 2(2): 36-42 E-ISSN: 2616-4558 P-ISSN: 2616-454X IJUIM 2018; 2(2): 36-42 Received: 11-02-2018 Accepted: 15-03-2018 Tabasum Fatima Assistant Professor, Kashmir Tibbiya College Hospital and Research Centre, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Beenish Ph. D Scholar Division of Food Science and Technology, SKUAST Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Bazila Naseer Ph. D Scholar Division of Food Science and Technology, SKUAST Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Correspondence Tabasum Fatima Assistant Professor, Kashmir Tibbiya College Hospital and Research Centre, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Diabetes prevalence in India and its management through Indian system of medicines Tabasum Fatima, Beenish and Bazila Naseer Abstract Diabetes describes a group of metabolic diseases in which either the person has inadequate insulin production or body is not properly responding to insulin, or both. This results in high blood sugar levels. Over-weight people have a much higher risk of developing diabetes compared with those having a healthy body weight. Being over-weight can destabilize metabolic systems. The diabetes capital of the world with as many as 50 million people suffering from diabetes (type 2), India has a challenge to face. India has been witnessing an alarming rise in the incidence of diabetes. According to WHO, 80% of diabetes deaths are occurring in low and middle income countries. This disease is triggered by persistent hyperglycemia which should not be underestimated, because the progress of the disease may lead to foot ulcers, followed by gangrene that may require amputation. In Unani system of medicine, various formulations have been proven to be useful in this condition but its efficacy has not been evaluated so far, on scientific parameters, particularly for the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. In this comprehensive review, focus is laid on various such drugs. Keywords: Diabetes, status, unani medicine, control measures Introduction Like climate change, the relentless worldwide spread of non-communicable diseases offers an opportunity for low-middle-and high-income countries to join forces in addressing a major global challenge that threatens health and economies alike. A recent report from the World Health Organization identified six risk factors associated with non-communicable diseases as the leading global risk. Factors for death: high blood pressure, tobacco use, high blood glucose levels, physical inactivity, overweight or obesity, and high cholesterol levels. Non-communicable diseases are intricately linked to globalization, urbanization, and demographic and lifestyle transitions-all ubiquitous forces. Increasingly, such diseases are also linked to poverty and socioeconomic disparity and are no longer “diseases of affluence.” There are also complex but measurable associations between early life circumstances (e. g. maternal and childhood nutrition) and the risk of non-communicable disease in adulthood; hence, many developing countries now find themselves at a stage of epidemiologic and behavioral transition in which they face a growing burden of non-communicable disease on top of the ongoing hazards of under nutrition and communicable disease. Persons with a non- communicable disease are also vulnerable to common infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and community-acquired pneumonias-and therefore to the poorer outcomes associated with these complications (Narayan et al. 2010) [28] . In the U. S. certain health conditions are readily accepted as "public-health disorders," and others continue to be primarily viewed as "clinical diseases." Reflecting on infectious conditions, it appears that disease burden, rapid change in disease incidence (suggesting preventability), and public concern about risk are three essential characteristics that define a public-health disorder. By any one of several criteria, diabetes is associated with a very high burden to individuals with the disease, as well as to society in general. Further, there is convincing and increasing evidence that primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies are effective in reducing the disease burden associated with diabetes. Yet most would still consider diabetes primarily to be a clinical disease. In part, this perception is based on the fact that, in association with aging and a possible strong family history, diabetes and its complications may appear inevitable to many. Further, much of the burden associated with diabetes is insidious, coming on gradually only after a considerable number of years. Thus, the burden associated with diabetes has not dramatically increased in the past few months or years; it has been here for some time and is increasing steadily. Finally, our understanding of public concern is only now being systematically investigated (Vinicor et al. 1994) [44] .