Diabetes Campaign among University Students in a Higher Top Ten Country

Purpose Diabetes Mellitus (DM) prevalence is increasing now a day in all countries. It is a major emerging clinical and public health problem worldwide and more specifically in Egypt. Pre-diabetes is a clinical stage before diabetes. Life style changes in this stage could prevent or delay developing of diabetes with its morbid and fatal complications. Aim of the study: was to assess pre-diabetes and diabetes frequency and identify associated risk factors among Ain-Shams and Suez university students.

Methods 854 university students were surveyed by a self-assessment diabetic score followed by measurement of blood pressure, weight, height, waist circumference and random blood glucose. For those with diabetes screening score ≥ 4 or finger-stick test strip levels equal or above 140mg/dL fasting blood glucose were done.

Results Nearly quarter (24.8%) of the studied sample were at risk of pre-diabetes or diabetes by diabetic scoring and (8%) of them by random blood glucose testing. Demographic factors as female gender, urban residence and life styles as daily stress exposure, physical inactivity and smoking of cigarettes or shisha, in addition; high blood pressure and obesity were accompanied with high risk of pre-diabetes and diabetes.

Conclusions Awareness of university students and other population segments to measure either random or fasting blood glucose and modify life styles risk factors of pre-diabetes is utmost important to prevent or delay developing of diabetes mellitus.

Publication History

Article published online:
02 September 2021