New estimates of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes prevalence in Mexican Quintana Roo

The objective was to study prevalence of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes in adult and adolescent populations of Quintana Roo, the fastest-developing region of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula. In this cross-sectional population-based study, a single random capillary glucose sample was collected from members of the general public, institutions, and middle school students during periodic visits between 2006 and 2010 using a one-stage, modified World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach. Subjects were invited to fixed testing sites for interviews and anthropometry; a subgroup of subjects received a clinical examination. Fasting or postprandial glycemia was assessed, and glucose dysregulation was determined using WHO/American Diabetologic Association (ADA) diagnostic and classification criteria. Subjects with previously diagnosed diabetes were analyzed separately. The prevalence of newly diagnosed, pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose [IFG] and postprandial hyperglycemia) among subjects ≥20 years old was 21.8 % (95 % confidence interval, 19.6–24.3 %), whereas that of type 2 diabetes was 15.4 % (13.4–17.5 %). Among children and adolescents <20 years old, the estimated prevalence rates for newly diagnosed, pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes were 14.3 % (12.6–16.1 %) and 1.5 % (1.0–2.2 %), respectively. Of patients with known diabetes, 67 % were hyperglycemic. Higher-than-expected prevalence rate of the newly diagnosed pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes in adults, and type 2 diabetes in adolescents in the Quintana Roo region of Mexico points to the urgent need for targeted preventative and educational health programs.