India, Aug. 8 -- One in every five people aged over 45 years had diabetes in India in 2019, with the prevalence in urban areas nearly twice as high as in rural areas, according to a new study published in The Lancet Global Health journal on Thursday. It also pointed out that nearly 40% of individuals with diabetes were unaware of their condition.

Titled 'Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of diabetes in India: a nationally representative survey of adults aged 45 years and older', the study defined diabetes prevalence as individuals self-reporting a previous diabetes diagnosis or having HbA1c (a blood test that provides an average of blood sugar levels over the past 2-3 months) of 6.5% or higher.

"In 2019 approximately one in ...