Nutritional Status, Vitamin D and Lifestyle of Adults with and without Type 2 Diabetes in Baghdad, Iraq: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the status of diabetes is important to predict thevariables that affect risks due to diabetes or can be used to prevent diabetes. This studyaimed to compare the socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional status, vitamin D(VitD) levels, and lifestyles of diabetic versus non-diabetic adults in Baghdad, Iraq.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out fromOctober to December 2019, and data were collected from adults aged 20 to 65 years.Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that contributed to thedevelopment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Data was analyzed using SPSSVersion 22. RESULTS: One-hundred seventy subjects were divided into two groups of85 respondents in non-diabetic and diabetic groups, respectively. Educational level, vitDlevel and daily consumption of red meat, pizza, pastries, nut and bread were significantlyhigher in the non-diabetic than in the diabetic group (p<0.05). On the other hand,respondents with T2DM had higher family history of T2DM, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR),body fat percentage (BF%), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and daily consumption of brownbread (p<0.05). Multiple logistic regression showed that the only significant factorscontributing to the status of diabetes were educational attainment and FBG (p<0.05).CONCLUSION: Higher educational level and decreasing one unit of FBS reduced the riskof T2DM by 10% and 67%, respectively. Future Interventions on fostering educationallevel, normal BMI, healthier diet and vitamin D intake are recommended for T2DMprevention and control in Iraqi adults.