Epidemiology of diabetes mellitus in an Italian rural community.

To evaluate the prevalence of diabetes in a rural community, 589 subjects in Laurino, Southern Italy, were submitted to a 50 g oral glucose tolerance test. Two hours later, blood glucose levels revealed 453 normal subjects, 36 diabetics and 100 borderline subjects. The borderline subjects were re-examined with 75 g OGTT and, according to criteria recommended by the National Diabetes Data Groups (NDDG), 29 subjects were found normal, 35 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 36 with diabetes. Final figures showed 72 diabetics (12.2%) and 35 IGT cases (5.9%). Obesity appeared strongly related to diabetes (p less than 0.05 in males and p less than 0.01 in females 40 years old and over). Diabetes was more prevalent in subjects with a positive family history (p less than 0.01). No significant difference in number was observed between male and female diabetics, nor between big babies delivered by normal women and big babies by diabetic women. The high diabetes prevalence might be partly explained by the changes created by an industrially-established dietetic influence on the rural communities in Southern Italy.