Prevalence and Risk Factors of Diabetes Mellitus in People over 40 Years Old in Rural Areas of Central Hunan Province

Objective To explore the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in rural areas of central Hunan province, and to analyze the risk factors related to diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted by using questionnaires (gender, age, occupation, degree of education, exercise habits, smoke status, alcohol consumption, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, family history of diabetes), anthropometric measurements (height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure) and biochemical indexes test (fasting blood-glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood lipids). Villagers over 40 years old from a community in rural areas of central Hunan Province were investigated. Results A total of 410 clinical data were collected. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in 410 (177 in male and 233 in female) villagers was 13.41%, including 13 males with a prevalence rate of 7.34% and 42 females with a prevalence rate of 15.16%. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) was 11.95%, 21 males (11.86% of males) and 28 females (10.11% of females). And the results of glycosylated hemoglobin test showed that 64% villagers with diabetes mellitus had hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c) above 6.5%. Univariate analysis suggested that gender, smoke status, alcohol consumption, family history of diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension were involved in diabetes mellitus (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that family history of diabetes (OR: 1.759; 95% CI: 1.010-3.065), hypercholesterolemia (OR: 3.819; 95% CI: 1.27-11.486) and hypertension (OR: 2.074; 95% CI: 1.130-3.809) were independent risk factors for diabetes mellitus, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in rural areas of central Hunan Province is higher. Family history of diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension are major risk factors for diabetes mellitus. The knowledge of diabetes should be strengthened. Related interventions should be given based on the diabetes epidemic status of local.