Background: Diabetes mellitus remains a high burden for individuals all over the world. Identification of adults at risk for diabetes mellitus provides potential opportunities for early diagnosis and prevention of diabetes mellitus. This study sought to determine the risk factors for diabetes mellitus among adults in a rural Nigerian community.
Method: A cross sectional descriptive study of 750 subjects age > or = 15 years using a systematic sampling technique. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire. Subjects were examined for weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference; body mass index and waist-hip ratio were calculated. Blood samples were collected from subjects for estimation of plasma glucose concentration using the glucose oxidase method of Trinder. Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed according to standard WHO/IDF criteria.
Results: Subjects consisted of 385 (51.3%) males and 365 (48.7%) females (male: female 1.05:1) with mean age of 39.42 +/- 16.17 years. Physical inactivity and body mass index were not identified as risk factors for diabetes mellitus. In multiple logistic regression, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was independently associated with age (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.05, p = 0.03), alcohol intake (OR 9.04, 95% CI 1.68-48.8l, p = 0.1), parental history of diabetes mellitus (OR 57.02, 95% CI 7.88-432.9, p < 0.001) and waist-hip ratio (OR 22175.12.95% CI 19.38-253736.1, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: We established that advancing age, alcohol intake, parental history of DM and increasing waist-hip ratio were risk factors for diabetes mellitus among rural adults in Nigeria. Identification of these risk factors in rural adults would be an important step in prevention and early diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in the rural population.