Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Glucose Tolerance in the Middle-Aged Population of Three Areas in Finland

Abstract

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was determined in a random sample of the population aged 45-64 years in three areas of Finland. The two-hour oral glucose tolerance test was repeated in subjects whose first test suggested abnormal glucose tolerance. In the final classification, based on the results of the two tests, the age-standardized prevalence of diabetes, according to the WHO criteria was 5.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.3-7.1) in men and 4.6% (95% CI: 3.6-5.0) in women. The prevalence of IGT was 3.1% (95% CI: 2.1-4.1) in men and 5.1% (95% CI: 3.9-6.3) in women. Among those aged 55-64 years the prevalence was 6.9% in men and 7.5% in women. The prevalence of diabetes and IGT were not different between the three areas. The age-specific mean values of fasting and two-hour blood concentrations and the 90th percentiles of the blood glucose distributions were also not different between the areas. The prevalence of IGT and diabetes increased with age more steeply among women than men. The median of fasting blood glucose did not change, but the 90th percentile increased with increasing age. The entire distribution of two-hour blood glucose shifted towards higher values with ageing, but the major increase was seen for the 95th percentile. The majority of the diabetic subjects were aware of their condition. The awareness was better among men than women.

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in a middle-aged Finnish population

“…The latter authors, however, performed the glucose tolerance test twice, and reached their diagnoses of impaired glucose tolerance on the basis of abnormal findings in both, which will have lowered the number of persons with IGT Scand J Prim Health Care 1995: 13 considerably. The prevalence in our study is, nevertheless, higher than that found by Tuomilehto et al (12) in their first OGTT, and it is therefore possible that real differences in the prevalence of IGT may exist between different parts of Finland.…”

“…The findings, 9.9% of the men and 5.7% of the women with diabetes, c o n f w the earlier observations that diabetes mellitus is common in the middle-aged Finnish population (12). About half of the diabetic patients had not been diagnosed previously, and impaired glucose tolerance was quite common.…”

“…According to Tuomilehto et al, diabetes was fairly common in the middle-aged population of three areas of Finland: northern Karelia, Kuopio, and southwestern Finland (12). The age groups used in the present study differ from those of Tuomilehto et al, however, which hampers comparison.…”

Prevention of Type II diabetes in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance: the Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) in Finland

“…A logistic CVD risk score will be developed which will be based on the prospective follow-up of subjects with IGT in a random population sample [29]. We will consider the following variables when developing the CVD risk score: blood pressure, serum total and HDL cholesterol, serum triglycerides, serum insulin, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences, sagittal and abdominal diameters, smoking and plasma glucose.…”

Leisure time physical activity and the risk of type 2 diabetes in men and women from the general population

“…Half of the total cases with diabetes were previously undiagnosed [3]. Thus, the prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance found in southern Germany is among the highest reported in European countries [4][5][6], emphasising the need for prevention. It has been shown that physical activity is one of the most important modifiable factors in the prevention of type 2 diabetes, because physical training, even in the absence of weight loss, can increase insulin sensitivity and improve glucose tolerance [7].…”