Abstract
The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was studied in Toshima Island, Tokyo, with high response rates to screening tests and 75g0GTT. In September 1990, 311 inhabitants of Toshima Island (168males, 143 females) were surveyed for the 1988-1991 period. From among 291 subjects (94% of all inhabitants) screened by post-prandial urine glucose test, 19 subjects with positive urine glucose were selected. From among 115 adults (47% of inhabitants over 20 years of age) screened by determination of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 18 subjects with FPG≥110 mg/dl were selected. Excluding 7 previously-known diabetics, 19 of 21 screened subjects received 75gOGTT. Five showed diabetic glucose tolerance (by the criteria of the Japan Diabetes Society, 1982). Without OGTT, 1 subject was diagnosed as diabetic because of hyperosmolar non-ketotic diabetic coma. Altogether, 13 subjects (9 males and 4 females) were diagnosed as diabetics.
These results indicate that the prevalence of diabetes in Toshima Island in 1990 was 4.5% for all ages (male, 5.7%; female, 3.0%). The prevalence increased with age; 7.6% of those older than 40 years, and 11.0% of those older than 60 years. These data demonstrate that repeated simple screening tests with follow-up OGTT in a local area are a potentially useful method of determining the prevalence of diabetes in the area.
