Increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Chinese adults in Shanghai

OBJECTIVE

Our objective was to determine the secular trend in prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Shanghai, China.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Two consecutive population-based surveys for type 2 diabetes were conducted in randomly selected adults aged 35–74 years in Shanghai in 2002–2003 (n = 12,329) and in 2009 (n = 7,423). Diagnosed type 2 diabetes was determined based on self-report, whereas those undiagnosed were identified by measured fasting and postload glucose according to 2009 American Diabetes Association criteria.

RESULTS

Age-standardized prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed type 2 diabetes increased from 5.1 and 4.6% in 2002–2003 to 7.4 and 5.2% in 2009. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes increased with age and was higher among men and in urban residents in both surveys (P < 0.001). Between the two surveys, the increase in the prevalence was more evident in the rural population (P < 0.001) and appeared more rapid in younger birth cohorts (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that Shanghai has experienced an increasing burden of type 2 diabetes.Type 2 diabetes is a major global health problem that affects over 285 million individuals worldwide (1). Over past decades, a continuous increase in prevalence of type 2 diabetes, which parallels a marked lifestyle transition and a worldwide epidemic of obesity, has been observed in both developed and developing countries (2). Unlike the gradual transition in most Western countries, these changes in China have occurred over a very short time (3). This may have led to a more rapidly increasing burden of type 2 diabetes. In this study, we evaluated the trend of type 2 diabetes in Chinese adults using the data derived from two population-based surveys in Shanghai.