Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in China

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in China. Methods: The Beijing Eye Study 2006 is a population-based investigation including 3251 subjects aged 45 + years. Anthropometric measurements and blood biochemical analyses were performed for 2960 (91.0%) subjects. Results: Defining diabetes mellitus as fasting glucose concentrations >= 7.0 mmol/L (detected in 227 subjects (prevalence rate: 7.67 +/- 0.49%)) or self-reported diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (154 subjects), 381 subjects were diabetic (prevalence rate: 12.87 +/- 0.62%). Within the diabetic group, 246 (64.6%) subjects were on diabetic diet or on additional anti-diabetic therapy, 205 (53.8%) subjects took oral anti-diabetic medication, and 44 (11.5%) subjects were on insulin therapy. Systemic complications due to diabetes mellitus were reported by 64 (16.8%) subjects. In multivariate analysis, diabetes mellitus was significantly associated with higher age, higher body mass index, higher systolic blood pressure, higher triglyceride concentrations, and lower high-density lipoprotein level. In addition, the diabetic subjects came significantly (P<0.001) more often from the urban region. Conclusions: This prevalence figure translates into more than 30 million diabetic individuals in China. Compared with previous studies, it suggests an increasing diabetes prevalence.