Prevalence of Diabetic Complications in Rural Goa, India

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its associated diabetic complications in rural Goa, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community-based study was carried out in a rural setting in Goa, India. About 1,266 participants were selected by systematic random sampling. The participants were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire and were subjected to anthropometric, clinical evaluation and biochemical investigations. American Diabetes Association criteria were used to determine the prevalence of diabetes and standard operational definitions were used to define the diabetic complications. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 14.0 while chi-square and chi-square for trend were the tests used. RESULTS: Among the total 1,266 study participants about 130 (10.3%) were diabetics. The prevalence of the associated diabetic complications were as follows viz. neuropathy (60%), CHD (32.3%) and cataract (20%), retinopathy (15.4%), peripheral vascular disease (11.5%) and cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) (6.9%). A significant rising trend in the prevalence of all diabetic complications was observed with advancing duration of diabetes. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of DM and its associated complications was higher among the diabetic individuals in the rural setting of Goa, India. All the associated diabetic complications observed need to be addressed with appropriate prevention and control strategies.