[Diabetes mellitus: reasons for prevalence in different geographic regions of Brazil, 2002 2007].

Awareness of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) as a relevant health problem in Brazil and realizing the importance of estimates of prevalence for public health planning and strategies, gave rise to this work seeking to estimate the reason for the prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in different Brazilian states in the periods from 2002 to 2004 and 2005 to 2007. It involves a descriptive study based on Brazilian population data with a diagnosis of DM recorded in the Basic Care Information System (SIAB) of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The prevalence rates were calculated for the periods from 2002 to 2004 and 2005 to 2007 and the Prevalence Ratios were then estimated per location and per reliability interval of 95% (RI95%). A high prevalence of DM was observed in Brazilian states with a significant increase (R>1; RI95%>1) for the periods in all Brazilian states, especially the Federal District (R=1.9800; RI95%=1.97241.9876) and the state of Maranhão (R=1.5217; RI95%=1.51981.5235). The conclusion drawn was that there was a significant increase in the prevalence of DM in Brazil between 2002 and 2007, highlighting the need for the formulation of strategies for prevention and control of the disease.