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Advanced age, obesity, physical activity affect diabetes risk in rural India
Among adults in rural India, older age, greater wealth, advanced education level and limited physical activity all increase the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, according to recent findings.
“Results indicate that age group, economic status, being overweight/obese and low level of physical activity are the potential risk factors of diabetes,” Anamitra Barik, MBBS, DPH, research coordinator at the Society for Health and Demographic Surveillance in Suri, West Bengal, India, and colleagues wrote. “Although these risk factors appear as independent characteristics associated with diabetes, they are also interrelated.”
In a cross-sectional study, Barik and colleagues analyzed data from 7,674 adults without cardiovascular disease or type 1 diabetes from the Birbhum Population Project, a health and demographic surveillance system site located in West Bengal. Data, collected between July 2012 and March 2013, include demographic processes, population health, epidemiology and health care utilization with a focus on anthropometric indices; cardiometabolic imaging data is available in a subgroup of adults. Researchers assessed venous plasma glucose to measure glucose concentrations in blood; participants were categorized as having diabetes, prediabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, or normoglycemia. Researchers interviewed participants and conducted home study visits every 3 weeks for assessment of follow-up for clinical events.
Within the cohort, 2.95% of participants had type 2 diabetes; 3.34% had prediabetes. When stratified by wealth, researchers found that 6.86% of the wealthiest participants had type 2 diabetes vs. 1.35% in the poorest quintile. Adults with more education (at least 11 years completed) were also more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes vs. those who completed between 1 and 5 years of schooling (5.95% vs. 1.9%). Adults aged at least 45 years were more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes vs. those aged 25 to 35 years (5.36% vs. 1.24%), as were those with a BMI indicating overweight or obesity vs. those of normal weight (6.73% vs. 2.89%). Physical activity level was also associated with incident diabetes, with participants with a low level more likely to be diagnosed vs. those with a high level (4.94% vs. 1.41%).
The researchers noted that the study data did not include information on food consumption or dietary intake, which will be included in an upcoming study on the cohort. – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.