© 2002 by the American Diabetes Association, Inc.
The Prevalence of Diabetes in the Kingdom of Tonga
1 Australian Centre for Diabetes Strategies, Randwick, Australia
OBJECTIVETo determine the prevalence of diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, and related risk factors in Tonga.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA randomly selected representative national sample of 1,024 people aged >15 years was surveyed. Each participant had fasting blood glucose and HbA1c measured. Subjects with a fasting blood glucose >5.0 mmol/l (90 mg/dl) and <11.1 mmol/l (200 mg/dl) or a fasting blood glucose
RESULTSThe mean age was 41.3 years, and the mean BMI was 32.3 kg/m2. The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes was 15.1% (CI 12.517.6), 12.2% (8.715.8) in men and 17.6% (14.021.1) in women (NS), of which only 2.1% was previously diagnosed. A total of 75% of people with newly diagnosed diabetes had a fasting plasma glucose CONCLUSIONSThe current prevalence of diabetes in Tonga is 15.1%, of which 80% is undiagnosed. A similar survey in 1973 reported a 7.5% diabetes prevalence, indicating a doubling of diabetes over the past 25 years. In addition, lesser degrees of glucose intolerance are common, and much of the community is overweight
Abbreviations: ADA, American Diabetes Association dBP, diastolic blood pressure FcapBG, fasting capillary blood glucose IFG, impaired fasting glycemia IGT, impaired glucose tolerance OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test sBP, systolic blood pressure WHR, waist-to-hip ratio
Noncommunicable disease associated with changes in lifestyle and diet has become a major public health problem in developing countries. Diabetes is at the forefront of noncommunicable diseases (13), and a number of studies have documented that the prevalence of diabetes in the Pacific Islands is generally higher than in developed countries but shows a wide variation, with Nauru having the highest prevalence (40%) and with some rural areas of Papua New Guinea having the lowest, with virtually no diabetes (110). The Kingdom of Tonga is one of many Pacific Islands experiencing a noticeable change in disease pattern and the emergence of noncommunicable diseases as a major threat to the health of the population. In 1997, a diabetes and related noncommunicable diseases control program was initiated in the Kingdom of Tonga. To allow future evaluation of the impact of the program, a baseline prevalence study for diabetes and related risk factors was conducted between 1998 and 2000. This paper reports the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, and related risk factors.
The Kingdom of Tonga is situated east of Fiji and south of Samoa and scattered between latitudes 15° and 23°S and longitudes 173° and 176°W. The Tongan people are polynesian, and the islands are believed to have first been inhabited during the 10th to 15th centuries (11). The first documented contact with Europeans was by the Dutch navigators in 1616. Tonga consists of 169 low-lying coral and volcanic islands of which 37 are inhabited. There are three main island groupsTongatapu, on which the capital Nukualofa is situated, Vavau, and Haapai. The 1996 census documented a total population of 97,784 with 59,526 people aged 15 years and older (12).
Sampling Procedure On the island of Tongatapu, 832 subjects were selected for participation in the study. A total of 66 individuals were excluded from participation, 16 had known type 2 diabetes (confirmed self-reported or taking diabetes medication), and others were either ill, pregnant, or were non-Tongans. Among the eligible subjects, 45 refused to participate, 61 consented but failed to attend, and 50 were unavailable at the time of survey, giving an overall response rate of 80%. Two subjects who were tested were not included in the final analysis because of missing information, giving a final number of 608 people. In Vavau and Haapai 527 people were invited to participate, of whom 25 were ineligible (10 with known type 2 diabetes), 20 refused to participate, 22 agreed but did not attend, and 44 were unavailable. In total, 416 people participated (202 in Vavau and 214 in Haapai), giving a response rate of 83%. The total survey population was 1,024.
Survey procedure
All subjects with a fasting capillary whole blood glucose >5.0 and < 11.1 mmol/l underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Subjects with a fasting blood glucose
Diabetes, impaired fasting glycemia (IFG), and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) were defined according to the new diagnostic criteria (14,15).
Statistical analysis
Details of the participants are shown in Table 1. For the group (mean ± SD), age was 41.3 ± 14.3 years, BMI 32.3 ± 6.1 kg/m2, waist circumference 99.5 ± 13.3 cm, and WHR 0.87 ± 0.08. Compared with the Tongatapu group (1998 Survey), the Vavau/Haapai group (2000 Survey) were significantly older (44.1 vs. 39.4 years; P < 0.001) and heavier (BMI 33.2 vs. 31.6 kg/m2; P < 0.001) but had lower sBP (127.3 vs. 131 mmHg; P = 0.003), lower total cholesterol (4.8 vs. 5.2 mmol/l; P < 0.001), lower HDL cholesterol (1.03 vs. 1.13 mmol/l; P < 0.01), and lower triglycerides (1.16 vs. 1.35 mmol/l; P = 0.001) and fewer were smokers (24.1 vs. 31.5%; P = 0.01) or consumed alcohol (5 vs. 18.3%; P < 0.001).
The prevalence of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes and glucose intolerance are shown in Table 2. The overall crude prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes was 10.4% (CI 8.512.3), 9.5% (6.712.3) in men and 11.0% (8.513.5) in women (NS). Prevalence was slightly but not significantly higher in Vava u/Haapai compared with Tongatapu (11.3% [CI 8.314.3] vs. 9.7% [7.312.1]). The prevalence of diagnosed type 2 diabetes was 2.1% (2.2% in Tongatapu and 2.0% in Vavau/Haapai), giving an overall age-standardized prevalence (3064 years, Tongan 1996 census) of type 2 diabetes of 15.1% (12.517.6), 12.2% (8.715.8) for men and 17.6% (14.021.1) for women (NS). Standardized for the Segi world population aged 3064 years, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 16.0% (13.318.6). The age-specific prevalence rates are presented in Fig. 1 and show rates of type 2 diabetes of 20% from age 50 years.
The overall age-standardized prevalence rate (3064 years) for IGT was 9.4% (CI 7.311.5), 8.7% (5.711.8) in men and 9.8% (6.812.7) in women (Table 2). IGT was more common in Vavau/Haapai than in Tongatapu (11.4 vs. 8.1%), but this difference was not statistically significant. Prevalence rates for IFG were 1.6% (0.72.6) overall, 2.4% (0.74.1) in men, 1.1% (0.12.1) in women, 1.0% (CI 0.01.9) in Tongatapu, and 2.4% (0.74.0) in Vavau/Haapai (NS). A total of 241 people (20% of the total population) eligible for the survey did not participate, of whom 94 could not be located at the selected household, mainly because they were overseas or at another island. Data on age and sex was available for 141 of the 148 people who refused to participate or who agreed but did not attend for the survey. The mean ± SD age of this group was 39.3 years, not significantly different to the study cohort. However, there were twice as many men than women in the nonparticipating group (96 vs. 45), mainly related to more men being unwilling to take time off work to attend the survey. Table 3 shows the association between risk factors and undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in a multiple logistic regression model compared with people with normal glucose tolerance. Increasing age, abnormal WHR, the presence of hypertension, a family history of diabetes, and microalbuminuria were all significantly associated with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. However, none of the lipid levels, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, calculated LDL cholesterol, or total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio was significantly associated.
Cardiovascular risk factors were common in survey participants. Of the total population, 60.3% had a BMI 30 kg/m2, 65.1% had an increased waist circumference, 37.3% had hypertension, 33% had a total cholesterol 5.5 mmol/l, and 30.4% had an HDL cholesterol < 1.0 mmol/l. All risk factors, except some indexes of overweight, were significantly more common in men.
There was a highly significant linear correlation between simultaneously measured finger-prick fasting capillary blood glucose (FcapBG) and laboratory fasting venous plasma glucose (mean 5.37 vs. 5.38 mmol/l, respectively; correlation coefficient 0.961). The decision to perform an OGTT was based on the FcapBG and HbA1c results. The majority of those having an OGTT had an FcapBG >5.0 mmol/l and <11.1 mmol/l (n = 391), whereas 3 subjects had an FcapBG
Of the 106 subjects with newly diagnosed diabetes based on the results of the OGTT (15), 79 (75%) had a fasting plasma glucose
This survey found a high prevalence of diabetes in Tonga with an age- and sex-standardized prevalence of 15.1% (CI 12.517.6). Rates in women were higher than in men (17.6 vs. 12.2%), but these differences were not significant. The prevalence of diabetes varies considerably among Pacific Islands, ranging from almost undetectable in rural Papua New Guinea to 40% in Nauru (13). The rates among Tongans observed in this study are among the highest in the region, excluding Nauru.
Disturbingly, most of the diabetes (>80%) was previously undiagnosed. A number of studies have shown that
A previous diabetes prevalence survey was conducted in 1973 on Tongatapu and Foa, an island of the Haapai group (18). The sampling methods for the survey population were similar to the current survey. A household census was performed 3 months before the survey, followed by random sampling within sex and 5-year age strata. However, the interpretation of the OGTT was different, with a fasting plasma glucose The lack of difference in diabetes prevalence between the more urbanized Tongatapu and the outer islands has been noted in both studies. This is likely to reflect that the degree of urbanization throughout Tonga is similar. Even in Tongatapu, many residents, including professionals, maintain a rural component to their lifestyle, and many continue to work small farms on weekends. The cardiovascular risk factor profile of people in Tongatapu and the islands was different in the islands being overweight was common, but blood pressure was lower, lipid profile was better, and less people smoked. The classical risk factors for type 2 diabetes were also evident in Tonga, with significantly increased odds ratios for increasing age, weight expressed as BMI or WHR, hypertension, family history of diabetes, and microalbuminuria. However, there was no association with any of the lipid measurements. These findings allow the generation of a risk profile for targeted screening for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in Tongans.
In addition to diabetes, IGT was also common, with an overall age standardized prevalence of 9.4%. However, the true rates of IGT may be nearly double this figure, because the survey methodology that only tested people with a fasting blood glucose level of >5 mmol/l with an OGTT would have resulted in an underestimation of IGT. Indeed, 7.5% of people with a fasting blood glucose Comparison of the ADA and World Health Organization recommendations for diagnosing undiagnosed type 2 diabetes show that 75% of people would have been diagnosed based on the fasting plasma glucose alone, and another 16% would have been classified as having IFG. The overlap in diagnosis of previously undiagnosed type 2 diabetes observed in this study is similar to that reported by Shaw et al. (19). Therefore, in the Tongan population, use of the fasting plasma glucose alone would detect the majority of people with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, and most of those who would not meet the diagnostic criteria for diabetes would be classified as IFG. Only 9% of people with undiagnosed diabetes based on the oral glucose tolerance would be classified as normal. In summary, the current prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Tonga is 15.1%, of which the majority (80%) is undiagnosed. The prevalence of diabetes has doubled since 1973. In addition, almost another estimated 20% of the population has lesser degrees of glucose intolerance. Much of the population is overweight and has other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. These findings suggest that lifestyle-related noncommunicable disease will contribute the major source of burden of disease for the Tongan community unless interventions can be implemented to slow or reverse this trend.
We are grateful to His Royal Highness, King Taufaahau Tupou IV, the Tongan Ministry of Health for its assistance with the survey, the survey teams from Tonga and Sydney, and the people of Tonga for their cooperation and participation. We are also indebted to AusAID for funding the survey.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Professor Stephen Colagiuri, Australian Centre for Diabetes Strategies, Prince of Wales Hospital, High St., Randwick 2031, NSW, Australia. E-mail: colagiuris{at}sesahs.nsw.gov.au. Received for publication 8 November 2001 and accepted in revised form 30 April 2002. A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances.
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