Diabetes and pre-diabetes in adult Nigerians: Prevalence, and correlations of blood glucose concentrations with measures of obesity

The quantification of the number of people with diabetes is an important factor that allows for effective planning and distribution of scarce resources for the management of diabetes. This study therefore investigated the prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in a convenient population of adults in Umudike, a semi-urban town in South-East Nigeria. The relationship between measures of obesity and blood glucose concentration was also evaluated. Standard protocols were followed for all measurements, determinations and definitions. The results show that the prevalence of diabetes in the studied population is 3.0% (3.6% for females and 2.3% for males). Impaired fasting glucose was found in 1.1% of the population (females 1.6%; males 0.6%), such that 4.1% of the population had dysglycemia. Diabetic females had significantly (P < 0.02) higher body mass index (BMI), fat mass, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR) compared to non-diabetic female subjects. For the males, mean BMI and fat mass were statistically similar between the groups whereas WHtR and WHpR were significantly (P < 0.01) higher in diabetics. The assessed measures of obesity (except for BMI in males) were weakly but significantly (r < 0.5, P < 0.05) correlated with blood glucose concentration in all subjects. The results are discussed and their public health significance highlighted.   Key words: Diabetes, dysglycemia, impaired fasting glucose, obesity, pre-diabetes.