Abstract

The objective of the study is to assess the impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus on sex differences among Punjabi population. In the present cross-sectional study, a total of 400 individuals (range in age 30 to 70), constituting 203 male and 197 female individuals were recruited. All enrolling individuals were at high risk of type 2 diabetes. The present samples were selected for particular trait, therefore, this sample may be considered as non random sample with no overlapping. Almost all studied risk factors like age, age of onset, BMI, WHR, pulse rate, socioeconomic status, occupation and blood pressure phenotypes have higher correlation (p<0.001) with the occurrence of type 2 diabetes among both sexes. The males with type 2 diabetes are accompanied by more unfavourable variables such as BMI, waist circumference, WHR, SBP and DBP as compared to female type 2 diabetic individuals. Socioeconomic status, reproductive status (pre-menopause/ post-menopause) and physical activity have significant (p<0.001) impact on the occurrence of type 2 diabetes among female individuals. The multivariate regression analysis confirmed that age, BMI, WHR and socioeconomic status are significant predictor for the occurrence of type 2 diabetes among both sexes. The present multivariate analysis with respect to many environmental variables strengthen the hypothesis that alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, food habits, physical fitness and hours spent in watching TV and sleeping are significantly associated with the occurrence of Type 2 diabetes. It is interestingly observed that the pre-menopausal or round about pre-menopausal age of females is more prone to develop Type 2 diabetes as compared to postmenopausal age of females.

Key words: Type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, BMI, WHR, Punjabi population.