Prevalence of Risk Factors of Diabetes Among Urban Poor South Indian Population

The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of risk factors of diabetes among urban poor population in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, South India.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from Dec-2010 to Feb-2011 in Chennai city. Five hundred twenty-nine subjects aged above 18 years (409 women and 120 men) habitants of three slums were randomly selected. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the socio-demographic and clinical information. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure and random blood glucose (RCBG) estimation were done. Dietary intake was assessed using 24-hour diet recall and duration of physical activity/day in all components was recorded.

The mean age and BMI of the study population was 45.4±12.8 years and 25.8±4.9 kg/m2 respectively. About 20.4% were illiterate and 34.8% were either unemployed, retired or housewives. Median family income per month was 3000 INR. Prevalence of obesity (≥25 kg/m2) was 57.3% and central obesity (≥90 cms in male and ≥80 cms in female) was 75.7%. The median duration spent in walking, standing and sitting were 30, 120, and 240 minutes/day respectively. There was a gross inadequacy in vegetable intake. The prevalence of self-reported diabetes and hypertension was 20.8% and 24.2%, respectively. Among the subjects without a previous diagnosis of diabetes, 12.5% had RCBG ≥140 mgs. 10.6% were diagnosed with hypertension.

Sedentarism coupled with unhealthy diet pattern are the major contributing factors for the higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension in urban poor population.