Factors Associated With Prediabetes and Diabetes Among Public Employees in Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

The increasing burden of diabetes mellitus is one of the major public health challenges in African countries, including Ethiopia. This is the first study aimed to identify factors associated with prediabetes and diabetes defined by both fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin in Ethiopians. We analyzed data of a cross-sectional survey (1372 adults aged 25-64 years) conducted between October 2015 and February 2016; multinomial logistic regression models were applied. Abdominal obesity, total cholesterol, and non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were independently associated with prediabetes and diabetes in both sexes. Increased triglycerides and religious fasting practices were independently associated with prediabetes and diabetes only in men; hypertension was associated with prediabetes and diabetes only in women, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was not associated with prediabetes and diabetes in either sex. Sex differences in the association of triglycerides, hypertension, and dietary habit suggest that different approaches of lifestyle modification may be required for men and women.

Predictors of prediabetes/diabetes and hypertension in Ethiopia: Reanalysis of the 2015 NCD STEPS survey using causal path diagrams

“…We are not aware of any national studies in the country, which have reported on the prevalence of prediabetes/ diabetes. However, two recent studies in the North of Ethiopia observed prevalence rates of prediabetes, which were ~1.5-4 times higher than in our study (Endris et al, 2019;He et al, 2020). Reasons for this discrepancy could relate to the criteria used to classify prediabetes, differences in the sociodemographic profiles of the samples, and thus differential exposure to prediabetes risk factors or, given the recency of the studies, may reflect real increases in the burden of prediabetes in more recent years.…”