Prevalence of prediabetes and associated factors of prediabetic stages: a cross-sectional study among adults in Nepal

Abstract

ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of prediabetes and to assess the association of prediabetic stages with sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical factorsDesignCross-sectional study at the screening and inclusion stage of a Diabetes Prevention Education Program (DiPEP) trialSettingThe study was conducted in two urban communities in Nepal (October 2019–March 2020).ParticipantsA total of 6222 residents of two study sites, aged 18–64 years and without a history of diabetes, were eligible for prediabetes screening. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy, history of diabetes and critical illness. A total of 291 participants with prediabetes were included in this study.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPrevalence of prediabetes based on glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) criteria (5.7%–6.4%) was the primary outcome of the study. Odds Ratio and 95% CI were estimated to assess the associations between the outcome prediabetic stages (5.7%–5.9% vs 6.0%–6.4%) and sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical factors in both unadjusted and adjusted models.ResultsOut of 6222 screened participants, 308 (5%, 95% CI: 4.4% to 5.5%) individuals were detected with prediabetes based on HbA1c. The mean age of 291 responded participants was 50.3±7.6 years and 67% were females. Among them, 78% aged 45–64 years, 97% had central obesity, 90% had high waist–hip ratio, 63% were hypertensive and 66% had no family history of diabetes. Approximately, 54% and 46% of individuals with prediabetes had HbA1c of 5.7%–5.9% and 6.0%–6.4%, respectively. Female gender was associated with prediabetes with HbA1c 6.0%–6.4% (OR, 1.98, 95% CI: 1.07 to 3.67) in the adjusted model.ConclusionThe estimated prevalence of prediabetes was 5% among screened participants, and female gender was associated with the prediabetic stage. As a large proportion of the population with prediabetes were not aware of their status, this study demonstrates a need for regular community screening programmes to detect individuals with prediabetes and provide them a comprehensive lifestyle intervention for diabetes prevention.Trial registration numberNCT04074148, 2019/783.