Archive · 14 Aug 2026
Study: 1 in 20 Delhi-NCR adults have diabetes and hypertension
Scientists looked at health check-up records of more than 56,000 adults living in and around Delhi, India.
They found that about 1 in every 20 adults has both high blood sugar and high blood pressure.
That's about twice as many as you would expect if the two health problems happened by chance.
These two illnesses often appear together starting around age 40, and by about age 70 nearly 17 in every 100 people have both.
Doctors say the conditions are linked to both genes and lifestyle, and that people often don't take them seriously enough.
Many people follow fad diets, social media advice, or use weight-loss drugs like Ozempic without needing them.
The Indian Council of Medical Research estimates more than 250 million people in India have generalised obesity, which is related to these diseases.
If left untreated, diabetes and high blood pressure can damage the heart, kidneys, and other organs.
The researchers suggest that doctors should check blood sugar and blood pressure together during health check-ups.
This means both conditions can be found and treated earlier, and fewer people may get heart disease, strokes, or kidney disease.
Nearly 1 in 20 adults in Delhi-NCR have both diabetes and hypertension — almost twice as often as would be expected if the two conditions occurred independently.
The study analysed more than 56,000 health records from select Max Healthcare Network hospitals in Delhi-NCR, collected between January 2021 and December 2024.
The co-occurrence of both conditions rose sharply from around age 40, increased until about age 58, and by around age 70 nearly 17% of participants had both.
People with diabetes were nearly four times more likely to have hypertension, while people with hypertension were about 2.5 times more likely to have diabetes.
Doctors say casual attitudes, social media misinformation and fad diets — including misuse of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic — hinder treatment, and researchers urge integrated screening for adults over 40.
- Who
- Researchers at Max Healthcare's Department of Clinical Research and Preventive Health Programme, including Dr Rommel Tickoo of Max Healthcare
- What
- Nearly 1 in 20 adults in Delhi-NCR have both diabetes and hypertension, almost twice as often as would be expected by chance
- When
- Health records were collected between January 2021 and December 2024
- Where
- Delhi-NCR, India, at select Max Healthcare Network hospitals
- Why
- A combination of genetic and lifestyle factors drives the co-occurrence; researchers call for integrated screening to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and kidney disease
- Prevalence
- Nearly 1 in 20 (~5%) adults in Delhi-NCR with both conditions
- Study population
- More than 56,000 health records
- Study period
- January 2021 – December 2024
- Study location
- Select Max Healthcare Network hospitals, Delhi-NCR
- Age trend
- Rises sharply after ~40; ~17% affected by age ~70
- Risk association
- Diabetics ~4x more likely to have hypertension; hypertensives ~2.5x more likely to have diabetes
- Global diabetes burden
- 828 million adults in 2022 (2024 Lancet analysis)
- Global hypertension burden
- 1.28 billion adults aged 30–79 in 2019 (2021 Lancet analysis)