title: [The diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in epidemiological studies].
abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relative usefulness of some of the diagnostic methods used to estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in epidemiological studies. A cross-sectional descriptive study with multistage stratified sampling was designed. A personal interview, a capillary baseline glycemia and a OGTT were carried out. The medical records and the use of antidiabetic drugs and self-control products were also evaluated. The prevalences obtained with these methods were: Medical records = 1.31%, personal interview = 7.91%, use of drugs = 1.93%, self-control products = 1.05%, capillary baseline glycemia greater than or equal to 120 mg/dl = 4.04%, OGTT with WHO criteria = 5.62%. Using OGTT as a reference, the diagnostic test with the greatest overall value was capillary baseline glycemia equal to or higher than 120 mg/dl. We think that, as a whole, the election of one method or another will depend on both the precise aim of the study and the type of design and the cost that can be sustained.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud La Condesa, León.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Franch Nadal
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Alvarez Torices
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alvarez Guisasola
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diego Domínguez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Pablo Pons
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hernández Mejía
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cueto Espinar
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
vernacular_title: El diagnóstico de la diabetes mellitus en los estudios epidemiológicos.