Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Fasting Glucose in the Adult Population of Iran: The National Survey of Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases of Iran

Despite concerns of a diabetes epidemic in the Middle East, internationally published data on national estimates of prevalent type 2 diabetes in Iran do not exist. In this article we document a dramatically high prevalence of diabetes in Iran based on the results of the first Survey of Risk Factors of Non-Communicable Diseases (SURFNCD) of Iran, 2005. In this national cross-sectional survey recruiting 70,981 Iranian citizens aged 25 to 64 years, we found that 7.7% of adults aged 25-64, or 2 million adults, have diabetes, among whom half are undiagnosed. An additional 16.8%, or 4.4 million, of Iranian adults have impaired fasting glucose. This high prevalence of diabetes in working aged adults is an ominous sign for this developing nation. As the relatively young Iranian population ages in the future, and urbanization continues or accelerates, the prevalence of diabetes will likely escalate.