Abstract
Background: Simple and less costly screening tools are needed to combat the rising non-communicable diseases epidemic. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of The Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) as a screening tool for prediabetes, T2D, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a population of young adults in urban Mwanza, Tanzania. Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted among participants aged 18–35 years. The FINDRISC questionnaire was used to collect data and compute the FINDRISC scores for each participant. Socio-demographic, anthropometric, blood glucose, and lipid profiles data were collected accordingly. Results: A total of 259 participants were recruited into the study. The median age was 21 years (IQR 19–27), and more than half 60.2% (156) were females. In total, 32.8% (85) of the participants had at least a slightly elevated risk of developing T2D in 10 years’ time. Compared to the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT), FINDRISC had a sensitivity and specificity of 39.1% and 69.2%, respectively (aROC = 0.5). The FINDRISC score significantly correlated with MetS (p = 0.001). Conclusion: In this study, FINDRISC has shown low sensitivity and specificity in the screening of pre-diabetes/T2D. However, it has potential utility in the screening of MetS in a young-adult population.
Highlights
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a chronic disease that is characterized by a long prediabetic state before the development of a full-blown disease [1]
Using a community-based cross-sectional design, this study aimed to explore the utility of FINDRISC in predicting current diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among the youngadult population in an urban setting of Tanzania
More than half of the participants had a low risk of developing diabetes mellitus in 10 years, while 32.8% of the participants had at least slightly elevated to a very high risk of T2D in 10 years (Table 2)
Summary
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a chronic disease that is characterized by a long prediabetic state before the development of a full-blown disease [1]. For individuals diagnosed early during pre-diabetes, it is possible to institute interventions that will halt the development of full-blown T2D [3] Standard diagnostic tests, such as the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and HbA1c, are expensive and difficult to scale up in a large population, especially in resource-limited settings, such as Tanzania [4]. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of The Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) as a screening tool for prediabetes, T2D, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a population of young adults in urban Mwanza, Tanzania. Conclusion: In this study, FINDRISC has shown low sensitivity and specificity in the screening of pre-diabetes/T2D It has potential utility in the screening of MetS in a young-adult population
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