[Prevalence of diabetes in an adult population in the region of Madrid (Spain). The Madrid Cardiovascular Risk study].

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired fasting glycemia in an adult population living in Madrid (Spain).

METHODS

In this cross-sectional, population-based survey, we studied 1,344 adults aged 31-70 years, randomly selected from the population living in 14 primary care districts of the Madrid region. All participants underwent a clinical evaluation that included a clinical interview, physical examination and fasting blood analysis (glycemia, cholesterol and triglyceride levels). The participants were considered to be diabetic if they had been previously diagnosed with diabetes by their general physician or had a fasting glycemia ≥ 126 mg/dl without a previous diabetes diagnosis. Impaired fasting glycemia was defined as fasting glycemia between 100mg/dl and 125 mg/dl in non-diabetic participants.

RESULTS

The sex- and age-adjusted prevalence figures for diabetes and impaired fasting glucose were 6.6% (95% CI: 5.9-8.7) and 14.1% (95% CI: 12.1-15.8), respectively. A substantial proportion of diabetic patients [17.2% (95% CI: 10.9-23.5)] had not been previously diagnosed. The variables independently associated with diabetes were age, male gender, abdominal obesity and hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

Our prevalence figure for diabetes is similar to those reported in other Spanish regions. The high frequency of impaired fasting glucose is worrisome, particularly when combined with obesity, as this association confers a high risk for developing diabetes mellitus.