Background: Six of the top ten countries in the world with the highest prevalence of diabetes mellitus are in the Middle East. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the prevalence of diabetes in Basrah, Southern Iraq. Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional, simple random study screened 5,445 persons aged 19–94 years in Basrah, with glycated hemoglobin measured in 88.3% of the population and fasting plasma glucose in 18.7%. Body mass index and other demographic parameters were also measured. Results: Of the 5,445 persons screened, 8.7% had already been diagnosed with diabetes and 11% were found by screening to have undiscovered diabetes, giving an age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes of 19.7%, with 55.7% of those with diabetes being previously undiagnosed. In addition, 29.1% of the screened population had prediabetes, giving a prevalence of dysglycemia of 48.8%, with only 51.2% of the persons screened being normoglycemic. The prevalence of diabetes in both sexes peaked at age 46–60 years. Diabetes was slightly more prevalent in females than in males, and about 70.3% of diabetic individuals had a body mass index ≥25 kg/m². Conclusion: The prevalence of diabetes in Basrah, Iraq, is very high, affecting one in five adults. The epidemic of diabetes will result in strain on the financial resources of health care systems.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management differs dramatically between Iraqi public and private sectors; this variability is due to treatment access discrepancy. The aim of this consensus is to put for the first-time uniform recommendation on how to manage patients with T2DM taking in consideration the local obstacles in Iraq. These consensuses were approved by a group of Iraqi Internist and diabetologist from all over the country. Up-to-date and latest level of evidence was used throughout the recommendation.

While the role of medical and nutrition factors on glycemic control among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been well-established, the association between health literacy (H.L.) and glycemic control is inconsistent. This study aims to determine the association of H.L. and nutritional status assessments with glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A total of 280 T2DM respondents (mean (SD) age = 49.7 (10.3) years, Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) = 9.9 (2.6) %, and Body Mass Index = 32.7 (15.1) kg/m²) were included in this study. A short-form Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) assessed the H.L. levels. Nutritional status assessments included client history, glycemic control, anthropometric, and biochemical data. The mean (S.D.) H.L. score was 45.7 (24.6), with 56% of the respondents had inadequate H.L. Inadequate H.L. was more common among those females; housewives, low education, received oral antidiabetic therapy, and shorter diabetes duration. Respondents with inadequate H.L. were significantly older and had higher HbA1c than those with marginal and adequate H.L. Meanwhile, respondents with inadequate and marginal H.L. levels had significantly higher total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure than the respondents with adequate H.L. Low H.L. scores, self-employment status, received dual antidiabetic therapy (insulin with oral agents), received insulin alone, and had higher fasting blood glucose explained about 21% of the total variation in HbA1c (adjusted R² = 0.21; p < 0.001). Respondents with inadequate H.L. had poor glycemic control. The H.L. scores, together with nutritional status assessments, were the factors that predicted poor glycemic control among adults with T2DM.

Objectives: Diabetes and hypertension are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of death in humans. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of hypertension, and hypertension control among adults with diabetes in Basrah (Southern Iraq). Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at Al-Faiha Diabetes and Endocrine Center in Basrah. It was started in August 2008 to April 2011. The total number of recruited patients with diabetes was 5578. Results: Hypertensive diabetic patients constituted 89.6% of this study cohort, with 45.3% of them newly discovered in the center. From hypertensive patients, 48.2% achieved the target blood pressure of less than 130/80 mmHg. The results of the multivariate analyses showed that the factors independently associated with the hypertension were aged > 50 years (odds ratio, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.3 to 0.5; p < 0.001), body mass index equal or more than 25 (odds ratio, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.4 to 0.6; p < 0.001), insulin use (odds ratio, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.5 to 0.8; p < 0.001) and duration of diabetes > 5 years (odds ratio, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.5 to 0.7; p < 0.001) . Conclusion: This study confirmed that hypertension was seen in ~90% of diabetic patients in Iraq, and approximately half of them were achieving target blood pressure level.