The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on September 28, 2006
The European Journal of Public Health 2007 17(3):291-296; doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckl235
Infectious and allergic diseases, cancer, and diabetes |
Type 2 diabetes and impaired fasting blood glucose in rural Bangladesh: a population-based study
Akhtar Hussain1, Stein Vaaler2, M. A. Sayeed3, Hajera Mahtab3, S. M. Keramat Ali4 and A. K. Azad Khan3
1 Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, Department of International Health, University of Oslo Norway
2 Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, National Hospital/University of Oslo Norway
3 Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM) Dhaka, Bangladesh
4 Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Dhaka Bangladesh
Correspondence: Dr Akhtar Hussain, Department of International Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1130 Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway, tel.: +47 22 850641, fax: +47 22 850501, e-mail: akhtar.hussain{at}medisin.uio.no
Received July 5, 2005 , accepted August 28, 2006
Background: Diabetes is a fast expanding global health problem but more so in the developing countries. Therefore, it is of particular interest to study the epidemiological transition of the state and to identify the risk factors in order to recognize the extent of the problem.
Methods: A random sample of 5000 rural individuals (age 
20 years) were included in a cross-sectional study. Fasting capillary blood glucose levels were measured from 4757 individuals. Height, weight, waist, hips including blood pressure and demographic information was collected.
Results: The study population was lean [mean body mass index (BMI) 19.4] with a low prevalence of type 2 diabetes but relatively high impaired fasting glucose. No relationship between type 2 diabetes and BMI in men, but an overall relationship was observed for women (P = 0.04) (data not shown). Age, sex, and waist/hip ratio appeared to be important risk factors for the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in this population.
Conclusions: Low prevalence of type 2 diabetes and relative high impaired fasting blood glucose was observed. The factors associated with the occurrence of diabetes in this population appeared to differ than its known relations with BMI. This may indicate that the risk factors for type 2 diabetes are likely to differ in different population. Our results are likely to be in line with the Indian data suggesting that a revised guideline for anthropometric measures in the South Asian population is called for, in order to classify people at risk.
Keywords: Bangladesh, body mass index, obesity, type 2 diabetes, waist/hip ratio