Aim of cross-sectional study was to survey the risk of diabetes mellitus in a severely disadvantaged Hungarian community and then to use laboratory tests to screen for potential carbohydrate metabolism disorders among those in the moderate- and high-risk groups.

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus shows a worrisome trend worldwide. Low socio-economic status significantly affects the development of diabetes, healthy life years and life expectancy.

Diabetes risk of the population was surveyed with the FINDRISC (Finnish Diabetes Risk Score) questionnaire, followed by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and glycated haemoglobin test of moderate- and high-risk patients.

In sample of 551 subjects, moderate or high risk for diabetes was confirmed in 147 patients (26.68%). There was significant correlation between increased risk and age (P < 0.001) and between increased risk and body mass index (P < 0.001). Significant difference was confirmed between incidences for disease based on the results of OGTT and glycated haemoglobin test when two different criteria systems were used. Age was the strongest predictor of pre-diabetes/diabetes (P = 0.016). The presence of metabolic syndrome increased the level of glycated haemoglobin by an average of 0.2% in normal glycemic status.