Publication:

Clinical and lifestyle risk determinants of undiagnosed diabetes and pre-diabetes in a blood donor population

Background Diabetes and its related complications constitute a major public health challenge due to their high prevalence, healthcare costs, and associated morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to identify clinical and lifestyle factors associated with undiagnosed diabetes and pre-diabetes among blood donors in Bangladesh.

Methods This cross-sectional study at the department of transfusion medicine, Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), Dhaka, enrolled 135 healthy blood donors aged 18-60 years. Participants were assessed for BMI, physical activity, family history of diabetes, FINDRISC score, and HbA1c, with blood analyzed using an automated analyzer (Capillary 3 Octa/Variant II). Data were analyzed in SPSS 24.0 using Chi-square tests (p<0.05).

Results Among 135 blood donors, 83% were 25-44 years and 91.1% male. BMI showed 51.8% overweight and 17.8% obese. FINDRISC scores were mainly 7-11 (52.6%) and 12-14 (25.9%). Glycemia: 49.6% normal, 41.5% prediabetic, 8.9% diabetic. Dysglycemia was higher with obesity (41.7%), overweight prediabetes (57.1%), inactivity (p=0.029), and positive family history (73.2-75%; p<0.001). FINDRISC scores correlated with risk, with 58.3% diabetes in the 15-20 group (p<0.001).

Conclusions Higher BMI, low physical activity, positive family history, and elevated FINDRISC scores are associated with undiagnosed dysglycemia among apparently healthy blood donors.