Screening for diabetes among Roma people living in Serbia

To investigate the prevalence of diabetes in the Roma population in Serbia.

We screened 11 urban and 8 rural Roma communities from October 2006 to May 2008 for the presence of diabetes. Blood glucose values, name, age, sex, presence of diabetes, family history, and obesity were recorded.

We analyzed the data from 1465 Roma people, 953 women and 512 men (785 in urban and 680 in rural communities), with mean age of 42.42-/+15.69 years. Abdominal obesity was present in 600 (41%) participants. Eighty seven participants (5.9%) already had diabetes and there were 76 (5.2%) newly discovered cases of diabetes type 2. Participants with diabetes were significantly older (F=28.33; P<0.01). Family history for diabetes was positive in a third of participants. The risk for diabetes was 3.48 times higher in participants with positive family history (odds ratio [OR], 3.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.37-5.1; P<0.01). Abdominal obesity was less frequent in healthy participants than in participants with diabetes (Chi(2)=32.55; P<0.01). The risk of diabetes in participants with abdominal obesity was 2 times higher than in the non-obese (OR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.24-3.55; P<0.01). Diabetes was significantly more present in urban communities (Chi(2)=25.20; P<0.01). The risk of developing diabetes was 3.65 times higher in participants from urban settlements (OR, 3.64; 95% CI, 1.99-6.66; P<0.01).

Prevalence of diabetes in the Roma people living in Serbia may possibly be higher than in the general population of Serbia and needs further investigation.