Objective: To determine the prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and to investigate their associated cardiovascular risk factors in Aragón, 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 Aragón 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.