Prevalence and determinants of diabetes mellitus in a representative sample of Italian adults

<p><strong>PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF DIABETES MELLITUS IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF ITALIAN ADULTS</strong></p><p><strong><br /></strong></p><p><strong>Background:</strong> Diabetes mellitus is a dramatic epidemic worldwid...

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Main Authors: Rosario Asciutto, Alessandra Lugo, Silvano Gallus, Maria Carla Roncaglioni, Carlo La Vecchia, Cristina Bosetti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Milano University Press 2014-11-01
Series:Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health
Online Access:http://ebph.it/article/view/9980
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Summary:<p><strong>PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF DIABETES MELLITUS IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF ITALIAN ADULTS</strong></p><p><strong><br /></strong></p><p><strong>Background:</strong> Diabetes mellitus is a dramatic epidemic worldwide. This study providea an updated estimate of itsprevalence and determinants among Italian adults.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> Data were derived from a face-to-face survey conducted in 2013 on 2901 individuals (1391 men, 1510 women) aged ≥18 years, representative of the general adult Italian population. Odds ratios (OR) for diabetes <em>versus </em>non diabetes in relation to selected risk factors were derived using multiple logistic regression models.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Overall, 135 out of 2901 adults (4.7%) reported a diagnosis of diabetes, with similar prevalence in men (4.8%) and in women (4.5%). Diabetes increased with age (0.6% at age 18-44, 5.1% at age 45-64, and 11.3% at age ≥65 years; p-trend &lt;0.001) and decreased with increasing level of education (12.8% for low, 7.8% for middle, and 1.4% for high education; p-trend &lt;0.001). Prevalence was higher among obese subjects (10.8%) compared to normal weight subjects (3.1%; OR=2.46; p-trend=0.001), among individuals reporting a physical activity &lt;30 minutes of walk/day (5.6%) compared to those reporting &gt;60 minutes of walk/day (3.8%; OR=1.43), and among ex-smokers (11.6%) compared to never smokers (4.2%; OR=2.51); moreover, it was lower among moderate drinkers (3.1%) than among abstainers (6.1%; OR=0.57; p-trend=0.016). Prevalence of diabetes was 16.1% in individuals with a diagnosis of hypertension (OR=4.66), 15.2% in those with high cholesterol (OR=3.84), and 21.6% among aspirin users (OR=4.46).</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Although diabetes prevalence in Italy is still comparatively low, effective clinical and preventive intervention strategies – focused on major risk behaviors – should be implemented to control the diffusion of this condition.<strong></strong></p>
ISSN:2282-0930