Prevalence of Diabetes & Hypertension: A Health Screening Programme in Rural Sri Lanka

Introduction: Previous studies have indicated that diabetes mellitus was less prevalent in rural regions compared to metropolitan areas. However, recent data revealed significant increases in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in rural areas as well. This study aimed to describe prevalence of diabetes and hypertension among adults attending health screening programmes at Rural Health Research Centre in Kataragama.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in conjunction with health screening programmes on World Diabetes Day and World Hypertension Day in 2023 at the Rural Health Research Centre in Kataragama. Adult residents (aged >18 years) of the Kataragama Medical Officer of Health area were invited to participate in these health screenings. Medical officers evaluated all participants for diabetes and hypertension. Anthropometric measurements and blood pressure assessments were conducted, and blood samples were collected for fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and serum Creatinine tests. Diabetes diagnoses were made according to the latest guidelines from the American Diabetes Association, while hypertension was assessed following the criteria set by the American Heart Association. Categorical associations were analyzed using the Chi-square test with SPSS software.Results: A total of 170 individuals (mean age of 49.3(±13.2), females -70.1%) participated in the clinics. Mean FPG was 110.4 mg/dl (±24.2), BMI was 26.02 kg/m2 (± 5.6) and serum creatinine value 0.83mg/dl(±0.3). The prevalence were as follows: overweight - 45.5%, obesity - 31.7%, diabetes - 17.9%, pre-diabetes - 29.3%, elevated hypertension-18.6%, stage I hypertension-31.1% and stage II hypertension-14.4%. Significant association was found between hypertension stages and advancing age groups (p=0.038) and with sex categories (p=0.036). Among the overweight participants, 11.1% were in stage I and 25% in stage II hypertension, while 29.0% and 23.7% of obese groups had hypertension I and II respectively.Conclusion: Prevalence of diabetes and hypertension were high in this rural community. Health promotional camps can be effectively used to detect the undiagnosed cases.