Diabetes Care, Vol 20, Issue 4 534-536, Copyright © 1997 by American Diabetes Association
Prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in Aragon, Spain
B Tamayo-Marco, E Faure-Nogueras, MJ Roche-Asensio, E Rubio-Calvo, E Sanchez-Oriz and JA Salvador-Olivan
Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital Clinic, University of Zaragoza, Spain.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose
tolerance (IGT) and to investigate their associated cardiovascular risk
factors in Aragon, Spain. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a
population-based cross-sectional study with stratified and purposive
sampling of residents aged 10-74 years. A sample of 935 subjects (427 men
and 508 women) was selected. All except those with a previous history of
diabetes underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and World Health
Organization (WHO) criteria were used for diagnosis of undiagnosed diabetes
and IGT. Plasma lipid levels, blood pressure, BMI, and waist-to-hip ratio
were also measured. RESULTS: The prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed
diabetes and IGT was 3.1, 3.0, and 7.2%, respectively. In the age range of
30-64 years, the age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes (using the world
population of Segi) was 7.1% in men and 5.6% in women. Both diabetes and
IGT were associated with high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, low
HDL cholesterol levels, and overweight and upper-body fat distribution.
Only upper-body fat distribution in women was significantly higher in
subjects with diabetes than in subjects with IGT. CONCLUSIONS: The
prevalence of diabetes in Aragon was moderately high (6.1%) and comparable
with that reported in other white populations around the world. The
proportion of unknown cases of diabetes was nearly 50%. Cardiovascular risk
factors associated with diabetes and IGT supported the existence of an
insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome, but there were not sufficient
differences between diabetes and IGT to suggest a possible pathogenetic
relation of hyperinsulinemia and associated risk factors.