DIABETES RISK PROFILING IN YOUNG ADULT NIGERIANS LIVING IN CROSS RIVER STATE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF FOUR SCREENING INSTRUMENTS.
Formerly Published in Vol. 12 No. 2 Jan. - Jun., 2025
Keywords:
Diabetes mellitus, risk scoring, ADART, AUSDRISK, FINDRISC, IDRS, BMI, obesityAbstract
BACKGROUND
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global health concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria. This study evaluated predictive efficiency of four diabetes risk assessment tools—FINDRISC, AUSDRISK, IDRS, and ADART—and examined their correlation with fasting blood glucose (FBG) and body mass index (BMI) in apparently healthy young adults aged 18–35 years from urban and rural areas of Cross River State, Nigeria.
METHODS
A cross sectional study. Data were collected from 265 participants through questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and fasting blood glucose tests.
RESULTS
FINDRISC and IDRS primarily identified participants as low risk, while ADART categorized most as high risk. Correlations between risk scores and FBG were weak for FINDRISC, IDRS, and AUSDRISK, and not significant for ADART. BMI assessment showed 17.4% overweight and 10.9% obese participants. ADART displayed high sensitivity but low specificity and positive predictive value. IDRS showed good specificity but lacked sensitivity. AUSDRISK presented the best balance with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.61. FINDRISC had moderate specificity but no sensitivity in this population.
CONCLUSION
The tested diabetes risk tools had limited efficacy in detecting glycemic abnormalities in young adults in Cross River State, but some moderately correlated with overweight and obesity. Adaptation of existing tools for young Nigerian populations is needed.
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