Prevalence of diabetes in the Republic of Ireland: results from the National Health Survey (SLAN) 2007

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Date
2013-10-16
Authors
Balanda, Kevin P.
Buckley, Claire M.
Barron, Steve J.
Fahy, Lorraine E.
Madden, Jamie M.
Harrington, Janas M.
Perry, Ivan J.
Kearney, Patricia M.
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Public Library of Science
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Abstract
Background: Current estimates of diabetes prevalence in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) are based on UK epidemiological studies. This study uses Irish data to describe the prevalence of doctor-diagnosed diabetes amongst all adults aged 18+ years and undiagnosed diabetes amongst those aged 45+ years. Methods: The survey of lifestyle attitudes and nutrition (SLAN) 2007 is based on a nationally representative sample of Irish adults aged 18+ years (n = 10,364). Self-reported doctor-diagnosed diabetes was recorded for respondents in the full sample. Diabetes medication use, measured height and weight, and non-fasting blood samples were variously recorded in sub-samples of younger (n = 967) and older (n = 1,207) respondents. Results: The prevalence of doctor-diagnosed diabetes amongst adults aged 18+ years was 3.5% (95% CI 3.1% - 3.9%). After adjustment for other explanatory variables; the risk of self-reported doctor-diagnosed diabetes was significantly related to age (p < 0.0001), employment status (p = 0.0003) and obesity (p = 0.0003). Amongst adults aged 45+ years, the prevalence of doctor-diagnosed diabetes was 8.9% (95% CI 7.3% -10.5%) and undiagnosed diabetes was 2.8% (95% CI 1.4% - 4.1%). This represented 31.2% of diabetes cases in this age group. Conclusion: Notwithstanding methodological differences, these prevalence estimates are consistent with those in the UK and France. However, the percentage of undiagnosed cases amongst adults aged 45+ years appears to be higher in the RoI. Increased efforts to improve early detection and population level interventions to address adverse diet and lifestyle factors are urgently needed.
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Keywords
Adults , Body mass index , Diabetes mellitus , Employment , Health survey , Ireland , Obesity
Citation
BALANDA, K. P., BUCKLEY, C. M., BARRON, S. J., FAHY, L. E., MADDEN, J. M., HARRINGTON, J. M., PERRY, I. J. & KEARNEY, P. M. 2013. Prevalence of Diabetes in the Republic of Ireland: Results from the National Health Survey (SLAN) 2007. PLoS ONE, 8, e78406. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078406