Lifestyle and clinical risk factors in relation with the prevalence of diabetes in the Indonesian urban and rural populations: The 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Survey.

AIMS

To investigate the differences between Indonesian urban and rural populations in the association of lifestyle and clinical factors with diabetes prevalence.

METHODS

Using database of the 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Survey, which was conducted in April-May 2018, non-pregnant respondents aged ≥15 years old with available blood glucose data (n urban = 17,129, n rural = 16,585) were included in this study. The diagnosis of diabetes was based on the combination of known diabetes, i.e., a previous history of diabetes or use of anti-diabetes medication, and unknown diabetes based on blood glucose criteria. We performed logistic regression analyses separately for the urban and rural populations to examine the association of lifestyle and clinical factors with prevalent diabetes.

RESULTS

Indonesian urban population was less physically active, had a lower proportion of adequate fruit and vegetable intake, and had higher individuals with obesity than rural population. Although there were no differences in the total prevalence of diabetes between the two populations (10.9 % vs. 11.0 %, for urban and rural, respectively), the prevalence of known diabetes was twice higher in urban than in rural population (3.8 % vs. 1.9 %). Physical activity was associated with lower risk of diabetes, especially in the urban population [prevalence OR (95 %CI): 0.91 (0.85; 0.98) for urban and 0.94 (0.89; 1.00) for rural). Obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were risk factors for prevalent diabetes in both populations.

CONCLUSIONS

Indonesian rural population showed relatively better lifestyle and clinical profiles compared to their urban counterparts. However, no differences were observed between the two populations in the relation between risk factors and diabetes. Special attention needs to be addressed to the high prevalence of undiagnosed and untreated diabetes in Indonesia.