Study of prevalence of diabetes mellitus andimpaired fasting glucose in a rural population

Abstract

There are wide variations in prevalence rate of diabetes mellitus in various parts of our country. Recent reports from PODIS representing a survey of large number of people from rural as well as urban population of India, reported that prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is lower in rural population compared to the urban population. However, the information on prevalence of diabetes in rural areas especially from different parts of the country is required for planning preventive and therapeutic strategies. The main aim of the present communication is to estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and IFG in Suttur Village, Karnataka State. A cross sectional survey was carried out in this village to estimate the prevalence of diabetes and IFG. Blood samples were collected with a minimum of eight hours fasting. Estimation of blood sugar was done by GOD/POD method. The ADA 1997 criteria was adopted for diagnosis of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and Diabetes mellitus (DM) The prevalence rate (percent) of diabetes mellitus for persons above the age of 25 years was 3.77%. The prevalence in males was 4.58% and in females it was 2.66%. Impaired fasting glucose was 2.82% in male and 2.78 % in female. The maximum prevalence was observed in the age group of 56 to 65 in both males and females. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of IFG among the three different communities; the study has highlighted the association of age, sex and community, with prevalence of diabetes.