Weight, hypertension, and age are variables affecting risk of diabetes among Black South Africans living in rural areas, according to a study published in African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine.

In this cross-sectional, community-based survey study, researchers assessed the interview answers of just over 1,400 individuals, including 1,281 with blood pressure measurements. The researchers checked fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol levels using ILAB 300 with the following cut-off values: high fasting blood glucose, 7 mmol/L; and triglycerides, 1.70 mmol/L.

The investigators used a predictive model based on participant responses to assess the impact of specific factors on risk of diabetes. According to the results, hypertension had the strongest direct effect on risk of diabetes, followed by age and high waist circumference. The researchers noted that hypertension mediates the effects that high waist circumference and triglycerides have on diabetes status.

“The results in this study confirm the conceptual model considered in the risk factors for diabetes and suggest that hypertension, age, and high waist circumference are the key variables directly affecting the diabetes status in the South African rural Black population,” the researchers concluded.

Keywords:  cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, direct effects, hypertension, indirect effect, rural

Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34342480/