Prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (GBA) in the working population of the Spanish Mediterranean area: Influence of sociodemographic variables and healthy habits

Introduction: The impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is an intermediate clinical situation between normal glucose and type 2 diabetes, it is known that 25% of people with IFG progress to type 2 diabetes. Methods: Descriptive study in 60,798 Spanish workers. The IFG was determined using the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria: 100-125 mg/dl and the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria: 110-125 mg/dl. The influence of sociodemographic variables (age, sex, social class, studies class) and healthy habits (tobacco, alcohol consumption, physical activity, feeding) were evaluated in the IFG prevalence. Results: The IFG prevalence was 3.3% (1.8% in women and 4.5% in men) using the WHO criteria and 11.8% (7% in women and 15.4% in men) using the ADA criteria. The IFG is more common in men and increases with age. People with low socioeconomic status (social classes IV and V, blue collar and primary studies) and poor health habits (smokers, heavy alcohol consumption and low physical activity) have a higher prevalence. Conclusions: The sociodemographic variables and the healthy habits, except consumption of fruits and vegetables, influence the prevalence of IFG.