ABSTRACT
Background: Diabetes prevalence has been rising more rapidly in middle- and low-income countries which is attributed to a combination of factors - unhealthy diets, rapid urbanization, tobacco use, sedentary lifestyles and increasing life expectancy. Objectives: The objective of the study was to estimate the proportion of patients at risk of developing diabetes mellitus using IDRS and to identify various factors associated with the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. Material and Methods: A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural health training center among 185 patients aged ≥30 years. Data was collected using a questionnaire containing sociodemographic details and Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) scale. Random Blood Glucose (RBS) of all the patients was also estimated. Data was analysed using MS Excel and SPSS 20.0 by doing frequencies, chi square test and multiple logistic regression. Results: The mean age of the participants was 46.6 (±12.31) years with majority of females (133;71.9%), Hindu (174; 94%), illiterate (122;65.9%) and patients from upper lower socio-economic status (127;68.6%). Fifty-four (29.2%) participants had RBS levels of ≥140mg/dl. The prevalence of high risk, moderate risk and low risk of diabetes among participants was 49.2%, 46.5% and 4.3% respectively. The significant determinants found on univariate analysis were gender, occupation, blood pressure, BMI and RBS. However, after applying multiple logistic regression it was found out that blood pressure (95% CI=1.122-4.990, P =0.024) and BMI (95% CI= 1.471-6.711, P =0.003) were the main predictors of IDRS score. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of screening programs for early identification of high risk people where simple lifestyle interventions can help prevent or delay the onset of the disease.