Veeraswamy Seshiah

Veeraswamy Seshiah is a diabetologist and lifetime distinguished professor of the Tamil Nadu Dr M.G.R. Medical University. He founded the Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of medicine, from Tamil Nadu ^[1].

From the Army to Madras Medical College

Seshiah was born on 10 March 1938 and took his MBBS in 1962 ^[2]. He joined the Army Medical Corps in 1963 and served at Uri in the 1965 war, receiving the Samar Seva Star and the Sainya Seva Medal ^[2]. He then joined the Tamil Nadu medical service, took his MD in general medicine and became an assistant professor at Madras Medical College ^[2].

Firsts in diabetes care

In 1978 he started a department of diabetology at Madras Medical College, the first of its kind in India, and in 1980 a division for diabetes in pregnancy at the Government Maternity Hospital in Chennai ^[2]. He started a postgraduate course in diabetology, recognised in 1985 ^[2].

He argued that undiagnosed diabetes in pregnancy was feeding India’s diabetes epidemic, since affected mothers and their children are at greater risk of the disease ^[2]. He introduced a simple, low-cost single-test procedure for diagnosing it, published in Acta Diabetologica, which the Union health ministry adopted for use across the country ^[2]. The ministry has declared his birthday, 10 March, National Gestational Diabetes Awareness Day ^[2].