Screening for diabetes in pharmaceutical professionals in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disease characterized by chronic hyperglycemia resulting from the secretion or deficient action of insulin, accounting for more than 90% of the cases of diabetes and is associated with macro and microvascular complications that are among the main causes of morbidity and total or partial disability in the 21st century. The objective of this study was to perform the screening for T2DM in pharmaceutical professionals from the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. This was a descriptive study with a cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach, carried out with pharmacists from seven municipalities in the State of São Paulo, from March 2017 to June 2018. The method used to track T2DM was the self-application of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) instrument, which incorporates the following variables: age, BMI, waist circumference, hypertension, physical activity, diet, family history of diabetes and history of glucose intolerance. One hundred and fifty-three pharmacists were included in the study. Of these, 127 (83.0%) were female. Considering the results of the FINDRISC instrument, 9.8%, 13.1%, 25.5% and 51.6% demonstrated high, moderate, slight and low risk, respectively, of T2DM development within the next 10 years. The results indicated that approximately half (n=74; 48.4%) of the evaluated professionals demonstrated a risk of developing T2DM above the low risk classification. It is worth emphasizing the contributions of the study which orient the pharmacists related to the possibility of altering the modifiable risk factors identified in order to significantly reduce their risk of developing T2DM.