Assessment of the FINDRISC tool in predicting the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in a young adult Nigerian population

Abstract

Abstract Background The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus is assuming worrisome proportions even among children and young adults. This study is aimed at predicting the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in a young adult Nigerian population using the validated FINDRISC tool. Results Data on 134 young adults [67 (50.0%) male and 67 (50.0%) female] analyzed in this study revealed a body mass index value of 24.86 ± 3.38 kg/m2 (male) and 25.42 ± 5.39 kg/m2 (female) with 43.2% of participants being overweight or obese. A waist circumference of 85.94 ± 9.69 cm (male) and 83.92 ± 15.24 cm (female) was recorded with 35.8% of participants having central obesity. A fasting blood glucose level of 82.04 ± 14.52 mg/dL (male) and 84.89 ± 18.30 mg/dL (female) was recorded with 32.8% of participants being hyperglycemic. The Finnish Diabetes Risk Scoring (FINDRISC) data [4.86 ± 3.24 (male) and 7.31 ± 3.38 (female)] showed that 1.5% have a high risk (FINDRISC 15–20) while 12.0% have a moderate to high risk (FINDRISC ≥ 12) of developing diabetes. Conclusion The FINDRISC tool is an effective diagnostic tool for assessing diabetes risk. In future studies, there may be need to also develop a more specific indigenous risk assessment tool particularly for a young adult Nigerian population.