This article was originally published here
BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2021 Mar; 9 (1): e002021. doi: 10.1136 / bmjdrc-2020-002021.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Compared to many other countries, Russia has a high prevalence of diabetes in both men and women. However, unlike most other populations, women are more at risk than men. The reasons for this are unclear.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Prevalence and risk factors for diabetes between the ages of 40 and 69 were compared in two population-based studies: Know Your Heart (KYH) (Russia, 2015-2018, n = 4121) and the seventh wave of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø 7) (Norway, 2015-2016, n = 17,649). Diabetes was defined by the level of glycated hemoglobin and / or self-reported diabetes and / or diabetes medication. Edge structure models were used to assess the role of major risk factors for diabetes in differences between studies.
Results: The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes was higher in KYH than in Tromsø 7 in men (11.6% versus 6.2%) and in women (13.2% versus 4.3%). Age-adjusted operations for diabetes in KYH compared to Tromsø 7 were 2.01 (95% CI 1.68 to 2.40) for men and 3.66 (95% CI 3.13 to 4.26) for women. Obesity (body mass index and waist circumference) did not explain any of these effects for men, but did explain 46.0% (39.6, 53.8) for women. The addition of smoking and C-reactive protein as additional mediators slightly increased the explained percentage of the difference between the studies to 55.5% (46.5, 66.0) for women, but only to 9.9% (-0, 6, 20,8) for men.
CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is a major modifiable risk factor that appears to explain half of the nearly three-fold higher prevalence of diabetes in women in Russia compared to Norway, but none of the two-fold male differences.
PMID: 33664061 | DOI: 10.1136 / bmjdrc-2020-002021
