Prevalence, awareness and risk factors of diabetes in Ahvaz (South West of Iran)

Abstract

IntroductionThis study was designed to assess the prevalence of diabetes in people aged over 20 years in Ahvaz, Iran. Materials and methodsThe study population was chosen by cluster sampling. A checklist included: age, sex, weight, height, blood pressure, waist circumference, educational level, smoking status and previous history of diabetes was completed for each patient. Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) ≥126mg/dl and/or oral hypoglycemic treatment and/or insulin consumption was defined as diabetes, FPG=100–125mg/dl as Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) and FPG <100mg/dl as normal. ResultsStudy population was 944 persons. Mean age of population was 42.2±14 years. Diabetes was detected in 15.1% of population. Only 40.4% of cases were aware of their disease. Diabetes was detected in 14.7% of female and 15.7% of male participants. Diabetes was related to age, waist circumference, family history of diabetes, hypertension, waist to hip ratio, educational level, marital status, serum triglyceride, cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) in both genders. But by using logistic regression analysis, age, family history of diabetes, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and marital status had significant effect on diabetes. ConclusionThis study showed that using FPG criteria or current medication 15.1% of this population had diabetes and about 60% of patients were unaware of their disease. Age, hypertension, family history of diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia and marital status are the risk factors of diabetes in Ahvaz population. IFG have high prevalence and diabetes screening should be intensified in this population.