Objective: To determine the prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in Yonchon County of South Korea and to investigate their associated factors.
Research design and methods: We performed a population-based cross-sectional study with random cluster sampling of residents > or = 30 years of age. Among the 3,804 residents sampled, a total of 2,520 participants had a standard 75-g oral glucose tolerance test and answered a detailed questionnaire. We also collected standard anthropometric data.
Results: If the data for participants in the age range of 30-64 years were adjusted to the standard world population, the prevalence of diabetes was 7.2% and the prevalence of IGT was 8.9%. It was observed that the significant factors associated with diabetes were waist-to-hip circumference ratio, serum triglyceride levels, age, systolic blood pressure, family history of diabetes, and locality.
Conclusions: The prevalence of diabetes in Yonchon County was substantially higher than was previously suggested. The risk of diabetes increased with the increased central obesity and metabolic disturbances associated with insulin resistance.