title: Diabetes mellitus and its correlates in an Iranian adult population.
abstract: The rising epidemic of diabetes imposes a substantial economic burden on the Middle East. Using baseline data from a population based cohort study, we aimed to identify the correlates of diabetes mellitus (DM) in a mainly rural population from Iran. Between 2004 and 2007, 50044 adults between 30 and 87 years old from Golestan Province located in Northeast Iran were enrolled in the Golestan Cohort Study. Demographic and health-related information was collected using questionnaires. Individuals' body sizes at ages 15 and 30 were assessed by validated pictograms ranging from 1 (very lean) to 7 in men and 9 in women. DM diagnosis was based on the self-report of a physician's diagnosis. The accuracy of self-reported DM was evaluated in a subcohort of 3811 individuals using fasting plasma glucose level and medical records. Poisson regression with robust variance estimator was used to estimate prevalence ratios (PR's). The prevalence of self-reported DM standardized to the national and world population was 5.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Self-reported DM had 61.5% sensitivity and 97.6% specificity. Socioeconomic status was inversely associated with DM prevalence. Green tea and opium consumption increased the prevalence of DM. Obesity at all ages and extreme leanness in childhood increased diabetes prevalence. Being obese throughout life doubled DM prevalence in women (PR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.8, 2.4). These findings emphasize the importance of improving DM awareness, improving general living conditions, and early lifestyle modifications in diabetes prevention.
authors: Digestive Disease Research Institute, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Asieh
authors: A
authors: Golozar
authors: Hooman
authors: H
authors: Khademi
authors: Farin
authors: F
authors: Kamangar
authors: Hossein
authors: H
authors: Poutschi
authors: Farhad
authors: F
authors: Islami
authors: Christian C
authors: CC
authors: Abnet
authors: Neal D
authors: ND
authors: Freedman
authors: Philip R
authors: PR
authors: Taylor
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Pharoah
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Boffetta
authors: Paul J
authors: PJ
authors: Brennan
authors: Sanford M
authors: SM
authors: Dawsey
authors: Reza
authors: R
authors: Malekzadeh
authors: Arash
authors: A
authors: Etemadi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D049628:Body Size; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003710:Demography; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D057566:Self Report; D055105:Waist Circumference