Relationship between healthy habits and sociodemographic variables and risk of diabetes type 2.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes is considered a worldwide public health problem due to its high prevalence and the important complications it causes.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the influence of healthy habits, especially physical activity and diet, on the risk of type 2 diabetes.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Descriptive and cross-sectional study in 1457 Spanish workers in which the influence of different sociodemographic variables and lifestyle habits such as tobacco consumption, physical activity and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in relation to the risk of presenting type 2 diabetes assessed with the Finrisk and Leicester scales was evaluated.

RESULTS: The prevalence of moderate and high values of the Finrisk and Leicester scales decreased as the level of physical activity assessed with the IPAQ questionnaire increased and as adherence to the Mediterranean diet increased. In the multivariate analysis by binary logistic regression, high age, male sex, less favoured social class, low level of physical activity and low adherence to the Mediterranean diet influence the increase in the prevalence of high diabetes risk values, while tobacco consumption shows a protective effect.

CONCLUSION: Physical exercise and the Mediterranean diet have a beneficial effect on the risk of presenting type 2 diabetes with Finrisk and Leicester scales.