NIGH PREVALENCE OF NIDDM AND IGT IN AN ELDERLY SOUTH INDIAN POPULATION WITH LOW RATES OF OBESITY

OBJECTIVE- To assess the prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose t olerance (IGT) in the urban and rural elderly population in south Indi a. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS- Urban and rural populations greater th an or equal to 60 years of age and representative of the areas (873 ur ban and 588 rural subjects) were screened for diabetes and IGT using f asting and 2-h postglucose capillary blood glucose measurements. RESUL TS- In the urban area, 211 (23.7%) had diabetes, and 101 (12.4%) had I GT. In the rural area, 56 (9.9%) had diabetes, and 82 (14.9%) had IGT. The ratio of newly diagnosed to known diabetes was 1:3 in the urban a nd 1:1 in the rural areas. Positive family history of diabetes, body m ass index (BMI), subscapular-to-triceps ratio, and waist-to-hip ratio were significantly associated with diabetes in the urban population. O nly age and BMI showed significant association with diabetes in the el derly rural population. None of the tested parameters, except age in t he urban subjects, showed association with IGT. CONCLUSIONS- This stud y highlights the high prevalence of glucose intolerance in elderly sou th Indians having low mean BMI (mean +/- SD; urban 21.7 +/- 4.6, rural 17.9 +/- 3.3 kg/m(2)). Although there was a twofold higher prevalence of diabetes in the urban area, the occurrence of IGT was similar in u rban and rural populations.