Diabetes Mellitus and Its Risk Factors among Migrant Workers in Kuwait

Abstract

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is growing enormously worldwide, and actions need to be taken in order to minimize the burden of diabetes mellitus and reduce its complications. Since two-thirds of Kuwait’s population are expatriates, the prevalence of and factors associated with diabetes among migrant workers was assessed as it has a significant impact on migrant workers’ quality of life, health, and productivity. The data used in this study was for all migrant workers who attended Shuaiba Industrial Medical Center (SIMC) for physical examination in the year 2018. Univariate and multivariate regression were used to assess the relationship between diabetes mellitus and the other independent factors where odds ratios with confidence intervals were delineated. Information for a total of 3477 participants was recorded in the dataset for 2018. Of the total participants, 10.1% had diabetes mellitus. About 49% of the participants were overweight. The largest age group of participants was between 31 and 40 years of age. A small percentage of the participants were diagnosed with hypertension at 11.8%. Additionally, 76.1% of the participants reported themselves as non-smokers. Diabetes was positively associated with age, hypertension, and nationalities. However, no association was found between BMI and smoking tobacco. This is the first study in SIMC to assess DM and its associated risk factor among migrants, since migrant workers are neglected subpopulations that need our focus and attention to achieve justice and fairness. The findings revealed that the prevalence of DM among our study population was considerably lower. However, a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet and being physically active, need to be introduced to prevent any further damage.