The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a
middle-aged north-eastern Portuguese population, (2) to analyze the prevalence of impaired fasting
glucose (IFG), and (3) to assess the risk of T2D in this community-based sample. An exploratory, retrospective,
and cross-sectional study was conducted from a total of 6570 individuals aged 18–102 years,
among which 3865 were women (57.4 18.1 years) and 2705 were men (60.0 16.8 years). T2D
diagnosis, IFG, and the diabetes risk score (low to very high risk) were assessed. The prevalence of
T2D in this adult and an older north-eastern Portuguese population was 17.4%. A higher prevalence
of T2D was reported in men (22.2%) than in women (14.0%); however, this was without significant
differences (p = 0.086). Otherwise, the prevalence of T2D was significantly different among the age
groups and increased with age (p < 0.001). Regarding IFG, a higher percentage of cases was observed
in men (14.1%) than in women (8.4%) (p < 0.001). The risk of developing T2D in the next 10 years
showed an association with sex and age group (p < 0.001) with a small-to-moderate effect (V = 0.1–0.3).
Men and the elderly had the highest percentage of cases in the moderate-to-very high-risk bands.
The current research confirmed a higher prevalence of T2D, IFG, and diabetes risk than previous
Portuguese epidemiological reports. The results also suggest potential prediabetes cases, which
should be carefully monitored. The current research adds evidence to the worldwide trend of the
increasing prevalence of T2D and intermediate hyperglycemia (i.e., prediabetes).
This work was founded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the
Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project GreenHealth-Digital strategies
in biological assets to improve well-being and promote green health, Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042).
