Indian Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) recommendations for diabetes management: A psychosocial commentary

The Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) recently released comprehensive clinical practice recommendations for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).[1] The published document is a "derived guideline," developed from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Global Guideline for type 2 Diabetes.[2] The authors of the RSSDI recommendations have fulfilled a major felt need for the Indian diabetes care community by providing practical and pragmatic guidance that is relevant for and suited to the Indian content.

In this editorial, we focus on the aspects of diabetes care specific to India, covered in the RSSDI document, and discuss how maximal utility can be gained from the coverage of these topics.

The Indian recommendations are structured into 20 sections, including the preface and annexure, while most of the contents are similar to the recommended care and limited care versions of the IDF guidelines, some sections merit special attention because of their novel suggestions. These include prediabetes, diet therapy, lifestyle management, targets of glucose control, footcare, fasting, and diabetes.

• References

• 1 Madhu SV, Saboo B, Makkar BM, Reddy GC, Jana J, Panda JK. et al. Guideline Development Group. RSSDI clinical practice recommendations for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus, 2015. Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries 2015; 35: 1-71
• 2 Global Guideline for Type 2 Diabetes. Available from: http://www.idf.org/guideline-type-2-diabetes [Last accessed on 2015 Dec 4].
• 3 Gujral UP, Narayan KM, Pradeepa RG, Deepa M, Ali MK, Anjana RM. et al. Comparing type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and their associated risk factors in Asian Indians in India and in the U.S.: The CARRS and MASALA Studies. Diabetes Care 2015; 38: 1312-1318
• 4 Choudhary N, Kalra S, Unnikrishnan AG, Ajish TP. Preventive pharmacotherapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Indian J Endocrinol Metab 2012; 16: 33-43
• 5 Jyotsna VP. Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Evidence for effect of yoga. Indian J Endocr Metab 2014; 18: 745-749
• 6 Saurabh S, Sarkar S, Selvaraj K, Kar SS, Kumar SG, Roy G. Effectiveness of foot care education among people with type 2 diabetes in rural Puducherry, India. Indian J Endocrinol Metab 2014; 18: 106-110
• 7 Kalra S, Bajaj S, Gupta Y, Agarwal P, Singh SK, Julka S. et al. Fasts, feasts and festivals in diabetes-1: Glycemic management during Hindu fasts. Indian J Endocrinol Metab 2015; 19: 198-203