An alarming prevalence of diabetes and its associated risk factors among college going Indian adults: a retrospective study

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of diabetes among college going Indian adults is lacking. Aims & Objective: This study was aimed to bring in awareness about the prevalence of diabetes and its associated risk factors among college going Indian adults. Material and Methods: This was a cross sectional retrospective study. Data were collected from the records maintained in VIT University Health Centre, Vellore, India. The records were selected randomly and observed for parameters such as blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and anthropometric measurements. The chi-square test, P value and odds ratio indicating the association between each risk factor and diabetes were calculated using the statistical program SPSS v 16.0 for windows. Results: Of the 1001 records scrutinized, 9% were found to be diabetic. Among the diabetic population, 95.5% had type-2 diabetes and only 4.5% had type-1 diabetes. Obesity (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.37-3.57), hypertension (OR 4.65, 95% CI 2.87-7.55), hypercholesterolemia (OR 5.5, 95% CI 3.08-9.93), hypertriglyceridemia (OR 4.1, 95% CI 2.2-7.63), anaemia (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.2-4.82), and stress (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.01-2.32) were found to be significantly associated with diabetes. Conclusion: We conclude that the sedentary and affluent life style accompanied by stress among college going adults have made them fall prey to obesity, hypertension and dyslipidaemia which is ultimately reflected by an increase in the prevalence of diabetes. Hence it is high time to encourage the adults to be aware of the importance of physical activities and protect them from metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity.