Abstract

BACKGROUND Among the non-communicable diseases, diabetes mellitus has an important ranking and with annually increasing rate where it is expected the number of people suffering from the disease will reach to 300 million up to 2025 in all of world. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Iran is 4-4.5% and in population aged above 30 years is greater than 14%. The present study is attempting to find out the prevalence rate of the disease and its risk factors in Yazd Province, central Iran. METHODS This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2012.  A total of 14993 subjects were randomly selected and enquired by a pretested questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and appropriate statistical tests such as chi-square, and multiple logistic regressions. RESULTS The prevalence rate of known diabetes and impaired fasting glucose was 16.3% & 11.9% respectively. Age, sex, family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, BMI, and history of gestational diabetes were significantly associated with diabetes disease (P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence rate of diabetes is higher than other parts of the world and living in the city. Female gender, increasing age, high blood pressure, increased BMI and positive family history, are independent risk factor for diabetes, therefore performing prevention programs and controlling these high risk groups should be considered as a priority.