Abstract
Introduction:According to American Diabetes Association, diabetes is a metabolic change characterized by the presence de hyperglycemia caused by a deficiency and/or malfunctioning of insulin secretion.Objectives:To determine sociodemographic and labor conditions, habits and lifestyles that explain diabetes in a group of informal street workers in downtown Medellín, Colombia.Methods:This is a cross-sectional study with analytical intent based on primary sources information and on a survey with a sample of 686 workers in 2016, after obtaining informed consent. Study variables included sociodemographic and labor conditions, habits, lifestyles, and diagnosis of diabetes. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed.Results:Workers with 50 years, 57.6% men, with a partner (56.8%), and more than 20 years in their profession. Higher prevalence of diabetes in those aged 18 to 44 and 45 to 59 years of age, lower schooling, consumed mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and evening snacks, and of households with food insecurity. Higher prevalence of diabetes was explained by: lower age, higher education, consumption of sugars, sweets, and desserts; and lower prevalence by consumption of mid-morning snacks, and household food insecurity.Conclusions:This disease of public health concern is explained by modifiable factors that can be controlled and avoided to improve the living and health conditions of this workers’ population.
Highlights
Informal employment is one of the major sources of income for the working population of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC),[1] a region comprising considered developing and transition countries, and accounts for 35 to 90% of the overall employed population.[2] workers’ health status has been deteriorating, this situation may be more serious for those who have subsistence jobs, i.e., who exercise their profession on streets and sidewalks,[3] which occurs both in Colombia and in other countries.[4]
Workers from 18 to years of age showed a higher prevalence of diabetes, followed by those from and 59 years of age, which revealed a statistically significant association consistent with findings reported by Ahsner et al in 1995, who stated that the population with diabetes was increasingly younger.[18]
When adjusted for the remaining variables, a higher prevalence of diabetes was explained by higher educational level, differently from what was observed in a study with civil servants in Brazil, which found that less educated individuals were more prone to diabetes.[21]
Summary
Informal employment is one of the major sources of income for the working population of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC),[1] a region comprising considered developing and transition countries, and accounts for 35 to 90% of the overall employed population.[2] workers’ health status has been deteriorating, this situation may be more serious for those who have subsistence jobs, i.e., who exercise their profession on streets and sidewalks,[3] which occurs both in Colombia and in other countries.[4]. Some highly-prevalent diseases among informal workers include diarrhea, pneumonia, and chronic diseases, as shown in a study with workers from a market square in Medellín.[7] This is accompanied by a deficient health care coverage, since less than 50.0% of informal workers in Colombia integrated into the health system[8,9] as contributing members. With regard to the specific topic of chronic and degenerative diseases, diabetes is the second chronic disease more associated with mortality from cardiovascular disease,[10] which is why it is important to provide evidence on the risk factors that favor its onset, as well as on its prevalence, and on how these factors are associated and explain diabetes in informal workers with subsistence jobs, in downtown Medellín
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