OBJECTIVES: To verify the self-reported prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus in nursing workers at a university hospital, to identify the main risk factors for diabetes mellitus (DM) and, among those who already have the disease, to identify the difficulties related to its control. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study, conducted between August 2007 and January 2008. Of the total (1,287) interviewed, 82% were nurses. It was used a questionnaire containing 22 closed questions. The data analysis was performed with Chi-square test and Fisher exact test. Student t test was used for continuous variables. RESULTS: There was a prevalence of 3% of self-reported DM. The main recognized risk factors were: age, sex, weight and, family history. It was found that the night shift contained more than half of diabetics. CONCLUSION: The self-reported prevalence of DM at the hospital was less than the expected value for the city of Sao Paulo. Among the risk factors found, the overweight was the only modifiable. The night shift concentrated most of the workers with diabetes.
Prevalence; Diabetes mellitus; Nursing staff; hospital
