Diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in the adult urban population

Objective: to estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in 30 to 69 years old urban population of the city of Campo Grande, MS. Methods: a population-based cross-sectional study conducted between 10/2009 and 2/2011. The investigation started with dosage of fasting glucose in participants. Those with blood glucose >= 200 mg/dL were considered diabetic and those with glucose level >= 100 mg/dL and < 200 mg/dL underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to investigate whether they had diabetes, IGT or non-diabetes. Results: 1.429 subjects participated in this investigation. The general prevalence adjusted for sex and age were as follows: for DM, 12.3% (95% CI: 10.5% to 13.9%) and IGT, 7.1% (95% CI: 5.7% to 8.4%). There was a higher prevalence of diabetes with increasing age, people with low education, family history of diabetes, overweight, obesity and central obesity. Of the total number of diabetics (n = 195), 25% did not know they had the disease and were diagnosed by our study. Of the patients who already knew to have diabetes (n = 146), 37% were unaware of the potential chronic complications of DM. Conclusion: this study confirms the increased prevalence of DM in Brazil and emphasizes the need for its early detection, as well as the importance of strict adherence to medical treatment in order to prevent its dreadful complications.