Prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes in class III and class IV healthy obese employees of KIMS University, Maharashtra.

Background & objectives: Diabetes is the most common metabolic disorder and its prevalence is increasing in almost all countries. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes and pre-diabetes in class III and class IV healthy obese employees of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) University, Karad, Maharashtra. Methods: We screened 600 employees of KIMS University, out of these 105 were included in this study. We studied oral glucose tolerance test (OGGT) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in study group. Classification of new cases was based on the oral glucose tolerance test (OGGT). Results: The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes among class III and class IV healthy obese employees was 3.8 %, where as pre-diabetics 7.6% making total of 11.4%. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGGT) level was significantly higher (P<0.001) in diabetics and pre-diabetics when compared to non-diabetics. Normal or low level of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was found in diabetics and pre-diabetics. Conclusion: The findings of our study and their implication would help to design disease prevention and to reduce morbidity in healthy obese individuals. We recommend that screening for the diabetes and pre-diabetes should be employed as part of routine occupational health check-up programme and OGTT may be the gold standard test to identify undiagnosed diabetes and pre-diabetes in healthy obese individuals.

Practical aspects of calculation, expression and interpretation of urine albumin measurement.

There is a large variation for estimation of albumin in urine between different laboratories. Clinical practice guidelines for the urine albumin measurements have been issued by professional organizations in several countries. These guidelines are not uniform in recommendations regarding sample type, time of sample collection, units of reporting, reference intervals used for interpretation, nor methods used to measure albumin. The aim of this article is to provide practical information regarding laboratory measurement, calculations, reporting and interpretation of urine albumin excretion. For laboratory estimation of urine albumin one can follow clinical practice guidelines suitable for their region or country or recommended by professional organization. There is lot of confusion about reporting of results in different units. Ideally, International System of Units should be adopted. Also there should be agreement all over the world to use single system of units for expressing results for urine albumin measurement. At present in India there are no such clear guidelines about laboratory measurement of urine albumin.