Community-based epidemiological study on diabetes in Pu-Li, Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and possible risk factors associated with diabetes in Pu-Li, Taiwan. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The project was a community-based cross-sectional study with stratified cluster sampling of residents greater than or equal to 30 yr of age. Medical students conducted home-visit interviews with public health nurses, drew fasting blood samples from 1738 of 2573 registered residents greater than or equal to 30 yr of age in Pu-Li, Taiwan.
RESULTS: The prevalence of diabetes, including those with a history of diabetes and newly diagnosed cases determined by modified World Health Organization criteria, was 12.4%. With the standard world population of Segi, the age-adjusted prevalences were 6.9% for previous diabetes and 4.4% for new diabetes. The age-specific prevalence of diabetes increased significantly with age for new diabetes cases but not for previously diagnosed cases. To study factors associated with diabetes, we first applied univariate analysis. Stratified analyses by age and sex were used for interaction assessment. A significant interaction effect on diabetes was found between age and sex. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. The final model showed that, after controlling for all other covariates, the significant factors associated with diabetes were family history of diabetes (father and/or mother, yes vs. no, odds ratio [OR] 3.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17-8.33), obesity (yes vs. no, OR 2.69, 95% CI 1.09-6.63), and age (continuous, OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.08). Locality and physical activity were not significantly correlated with diabetes.
CONCLUSIONS: The age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes in Pu-Li were 6.9% for previous diabetes and 4.4% for new diabetes. Possible risk factors associated with diabetes with logistic regression were family history of diabetes, obesity, and age. Locality and physical activity were not significantly correlated with diabetes.