Prevalence of Prediabetes and Undiagnosed Diabetes among Adults Aged 18 to 70 Years in France—The CONSTANCES Cohort

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to update the prevalence of different diabetes stages in France among adults aged 18 to 70 years according to gender, age and socioeconomic status.

Methods: The CONSTANCES cohort is a randomly selected representative sample of French adults. In 2013, 16,340 participants were recruited. Based on data from self-administered questionnaires, medical examination (including fasting plasma glucose (FPG) measurement) and data from the French National Insurance System (antidiabetic drugs consumption and hospitalization), three stages were defined: prediabetes (WHO definition), diagnosed and undiagnosed (FPG ≥ 126 mg/dL) diabetes. Weighted prevalence of each stage was estimated for all population and by gender, age and education. Confidence intervals were calculated using logit transformation.

Results: In 2013, the prevalence of prediabetes, undiagnosed diabetes and diagnosed diabetes was 7.4%, 1.9% and 3.9%, respectively. All these rates were higher in males, increased steadily with age while decreasing with education (Figure).

Discussion: Our results show that the prevalence of prediabetes and unknown diabetes are still very high in developed countries, like France. They highlight the need to increase primary prevention, and to reinforce secondary prevention of diabetes, especially through promotion of screening in population at risk.

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