[Prevalence of prediabesity and diabesity. Analysis of data from the 2016-17 Chilean National Health Survey]

Diabesity is defined as the coexistence of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), either with or without additional cardiovascular risk factors. Despite its significance, its prevalence has not yet been investigated in Chile. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of prediabesity and diabesity in Chilean adults.

4,985 participants older than 18 from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016-2017 were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Nutritional status was determined through the body-mass index while T2D was determined through fasting glycemia ≥126 mg / dL or self-reported medical status. Using these two variables, six phenotypes were defined: normal without diabetes, normo-diabetes, overweight without diabetes, prediabesity, obesity without diabetes, and diabesity. The prevalence of these was studied according to sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics.

The prevalence of diabesity was 5.7%, 3.6% had prediabesity, and 2.5% were classified as normo-diabetes. Additionally, the prevalence of diabetes was mainly in women, in people with less than 8 years of schooling, and in those with an age of diagnosis of 45-46 years.

9.3% of the population presented pre or diabesity, with a higher proportion of diabesity cases in women and people with lower education. Considering the projections of obesity and T2DM in Chile, it is urgent to generate actions and strategies since a large proportion of the cases of these diseases can be preventable.