Abstract
BackgroundRecent studies have shown that the choice of foods and frequency of intake plays a role in diabetes prevention. We examined the association between frequency of consumption of specific food items and the occurrence of diabetes in adult Indian population.MethodsCross sectional data of 99,574 women and 61,361 men aged 20-49 years who participated in India’s third National Family Health Survey conducted during 2005-06 was used for this study. Association between frequency of food intake such as daily, weekly, occasionally and never, and prevalence of diabetes were estimated using multivariable logistic regression models after adjusting for body mass index, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, television watching and socio-economic and demographic characteristics, stratified by sex.ResultsIn men, weekly (OR:0.64; 95%CI:0.47-0.88) and occasional (OR:0.60; 95%CI:0.44-0.81) consumption of milk/curd, weekly (OR:0.48; 95%CI:0.27-0.87) and occasional (OR:0.52; 95%CI:0.28-0.99) consumption of pulses/beans and consumption of fruits (OR ranges from 0.33 to 0.39) was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of diabetes whereas daily (OR:0.55; 95%CI:0.34-0.88) or weekly (OR:0.56; 95%CI:0.35-0.90) pulses/beans consumption and fruits intake (OR ranges from 0.36 to 0.46) was associated with a lower likelihood of diabetes in women.ConclusionThis study has confirmed findings from high income countries that diabetes among adult Indians, which is large and increasing, might be contained by regular consumption of vegetarian foods including pulses, beans, fruits and dairy products. However, this is an observational finding and uncontrolled confounding cannot be excluded as an explanation for the association. More epidemiological research with better measures of food intake and clinical measures of diabetes is needed in a developing country setting to validate the findings.
Highlights
India is experiencing an alarming increase in the incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus [1,2,3,4,5,6] both in rural [7,8] and urban areas [9,10,11,12], with higher prevalence in south than in north India [13]
Recent evidences have emerged from developed countries that certain foods and dietary factors may be associated with diabetes [21] and the choice of foods may play a role in diabetes prevention
India’s third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3, 2005-06) collected data from 109,041 households on a wide range of dietary, societal, lifestyle, and environmental determinants of morbidity and chronic ailments, including diabetes, for adult men aged 15-54 years and women aged 15-49 years (IIPS and Macro International, 2007), and covered regions comprising more than 99% of India’s population, provide a unique opportunity to study the association between various types of food consumption and the risk of diabetes in a large nationally representative sample of adult men and women in India
Summary
India is experiencing an alarming increase in the incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus [1,2,3,4,5,6] both in rural [7,8] and urban areas [9,10,11,12], with higher prevalence in south than in north India [13]. Obesity is the most important risk factor for type 2 diabetes [19], lifestyle intervention trials that include dietary changes have been shown to be effective in preventing the development of diabetes [20]. Recent evidences have emerged from developed countries that certain foods and dietary factors may be associated with diabetes [21] and the choice of foods may play a role in diabetes prevention. Studies showed that a prudent diet is a key component of a healthy lifestyle for preventing type 2 diabetes [8,22]. Consumption of fruit and vegetables [34] has shown inverse associations with the risk of diabetes. Recent studies have shown that the choice of foods and frequency of intake plays a role in diabetes prevention. We examined the association between frequency of consumption of specific food items and the occurrence of diabetes in adult Indian population
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