Prevalence and risk factors of diabetes mellitus in the Isfahan city population (aged 40 or over) in 1993.

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of diabetes among people aged 40 or more and to compare selected factors such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index and lipid profile in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. This is a cross-sectional study of subjects aged over 40 in Isfahan. Selection of diabetic subjects were based on multi-stage random sampling. Diabetes status was defined by the World Health Organization criteria and was based on fasting plasma glucose and oral glucose tolerance test results. Data on age, body mass index, blood pressure and lipid profile were obtained. Results show that a total of 3910 eligible subjects were examined and classified into different diabetes status. The overall age-standardized prevalence of diabetes was 7.54% (95% CI: 6.24-8.84%) in males and 7.97% (95% CI: 6.75-9.19%) in females with no difference. Similarly, the overall age standardized prevalence was 7.76% (95% CI: 6.87-8.65%). The prevalence of diabetes was shown to increased in the older age groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age, systolic blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, being overweight and also obesity were independently associated with diabetes. A large number of newly-diagnosed diabetic subjects were identified, which necessitates powerful screening programs. High levels of blood pressure, body mass index and lipid profile should draw attention to probable presence of diabetes.