Twelve-year trends in the prevalence and risk factors of diabetes and prediabetes in Turkish adults.

There is concern about an emerging diabetes epidemic in Turkey. We aimed to determine the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes, prediabetes and their 12-year trends and to identify risk factors for diabetes in the adult Turkish population. A cross-sectional, population-based survey, 'TURDEP-II' included 26,499 randomly sampled adults aged ≥ 20 years (response rate: 87 %). Fasting glucose and biochemical parameters were measured in all; then a OGTT was performed to identify diabetes and prediabetes in eligible participants. The prevalence of diabetes was 16.5 % (new 7.5 %), translating to 6.5 million adults with diabetes in Turkey. It was higher in women than men (p = 0.008). The age-standardized prevalence to the TURDEP-I population (performed in 1997-98) was 13.7 % (if same diagnostic definition was applied diabetes prevalence is calculated 11.4 %). The prevalence of isolated-IFG and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and combined prediabetes was 14.7, 7.9, and 8.2 %, respectively; and that of obesity 36 % and hypertension 31.4 %. Compared to TURDEP-I; the rate of increase for diabetes: 90 %, IGT: 106 %, obesity: 40 % and central obesity: 35 %, but hypertension decreased by 11 % during the last 12 years. In women age, waist, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, low education, and living environment; in men age, BMI, and hypertension were independently associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes. In women current smoking, and in men being single were associated with a reduced risk. These results from one of the largest nationally representative surveys carried out so far show that diabetes has rapidly become a major public health challenge in Turkey. The figures are alarming and underscore the urgent need for national programs to prevent diabetes, to manage the illness and thus prevent complications.

Dietary habits contributing to the cancer prevention among health college students in Turkey.

This descriptive study was made to evaluate the dietary habits contributing to cancer prevention of 319 health college students. Data collection form included questions about demographic characteristics and 33 statements which evaluate dietary habits contributing to cancer prevention. Among the students, 56.1% consumed fast food outside the home/dormitory twice a week or more and 47% never exercised. Moreover, 63.9% of the students reported that their dietary habits changed negatively and 69% stated that their fruit and vegetable consumption decreased after starting the health college. The students mostly paid attention to preserving food and water consumption while they paid least attention to maintaining healthy weight and whole grain consumption. Female students, those who paid attention to the amount and calorie of the food they consumed, students who did not consume fast food, and students who exercised twice a week or three times a week had better dietary habits contributing to cancer prevention (p<0.05). According to these results we recommend that interventions which will reduce fast food consumption and increase fruit and vegetable consumption and exercising in university students should be implemented. For this purpose, appropriate conditions for preparing and preserving healthy food should be provided as well as increasing the frequency of vegetable containing meals and providing fruits and salads in every meal at school cafeterias.

Diabetes education: a chance to improve well-being of Turkish people with type 2 diabetes.

To examine the influence of diabetes education on well-being, 255 patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited according to whether they attended a diabetes education program (n=126) or not (n=129). In patients who had participated in the program, the mean anxiety score was significantly lower, whereas positive well-being and general well-being scores were significantly higher than for patients who had not participated. Factors related to lower well-being included: being female, taking insulin, not attending a diabetes education program and having HbA(1c) level greater than 8%. The odds of having better well-being were two-fold higher in patients participating the diabetes education program compared with those who had not. Diabetes education has a crucial role in improving the well-being of patients with type 2 diabetes. All patients with diabetes should be encouraged to attend a diabetes education program.