Objective/research question To investigate the change
in the prevalence and risk factors of diabetes among
adults in Bangladesh between 2011 and 2018.
Design The study used two waves of nationally
representative cross-sectional data extracted from the
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys in 2011 and
2017–2018.
Setting Bangladesh.
Participants 14 376 adults aged ≥35 years.
Primary outcome Diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes).
Results From 2011 to 2018, the diabetes prevalence
among adults aged ≥35 years increased from 10.95%
(880) to 13.75% (922) (p<0.001), with the largest-relative
increase (90%) among obese individuals. Multivariable
logistic regression analysis identified age and body mass
index (BMI) were the key risk factors for diabetes. Adults
who were overweight or obese were 1.54 times (adjusted
OR (AOR): 1.54, 95% CI: 1.20 to 1.97) more likely to
develop diabetes than normal-weight individuals in 2011,
and 1.22 times (AOR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.50) and
1.44 times (AOR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.84) more prone
to develop diabetes in 2018. Other significant risk factors
for diabetes were marital status, education, geographical
region, wealth index and hypertension status in both
survey years.
Conclusion A high prevalence of diabetes was observed
and it has been steadily increasing over time. To enhance
diabetes detection and prevention among adults in
Bangladesh, population-level interventions focusing on
health education, including a healthy diet and lifestyle, are
required.