Socioeconomic, medical and anthropometric characteristics of the participants
| Variable | No diabetes, n (%) | Diabetes, n (%) | P value |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 320 (49.0) | 103 (47.0) | 0.613 |
| Male | 333 (51.0) | 116 (53.0) | |
| Age, years | |||
| 18– 34 | 219 (33.5) | 20 (9.13) | 0.001 |
| 35–64 | 416 (63.7) | 164 (74.8) | |
| ≥65 | 18 (2.8) | 35 (16) | |
| Education | |||
| Did not complete secondary school | 89 (13.7) | 89 (45.2) | 0.189 |
| Completed secondary school | 296 (45.6) | 66 (33.5) | |
| Tertiary education | 264 (40.7) | 42 (21.3) | |
| Income, year (AED) | |||
| ≤35 999 | 147 (27.3) | 48 (30) | 0.260 |
| 36 000–179 999 | 128 (23.7) | 43 (26.9) | |
| ≥180 000 | 264 (49) | 69 (43.1) | |
| Regions | |||
| Sharjah | 329 (50.4) | 111 (50.7) | 0.174 |
| Umm al-Quwain | 73 (5.7) | 16 (7.3) | |
| Ras al-Khaimah | 204 (31.2) | 32 (19.2) | |
| Fujairah | 45 (6.9) | 29 (13.2) | |
| Ajman | 38 (5.8) | 21 (9.6) | |
| Smoking status | |||
| No | 533 (87.9) | 161 (86.1) | 0.902 |
| Yes | 76 (12.1) | 26 (13.9) | |
| Moderate regular physical activity | |||
| No | 573 (89.5) | 184 (90.2) | 0.786 |
| Yes | 67 (10.5) | 20 (9.8) | |
| Family history of diabetes mellitus (parents/siblings) | |||
| No | 501 (78.3) | 74 (34.3) | 0.030 |
| Yes | 139 (21.7) | 142 (65.7) | |
| Hypertension status | |||
| No | 543 (84.4) | 104 (49.6) | < 0.001 |
| Yes | 100 (15.6) | 110 (51.4) | |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | |||
| <25 | 184 (28.4) | 30 (13.9) | <0.001 |
| 25–29 | 244 (37.8) | 72 (33.3) | |
| ≥30.0 | 219 (33.8) | 114 (52.8) | |
| Waist-to-hip ratio | |||
| <0.90 for males and <0.85 for females | 232 (63.5) | 41 (19.4) | <0.001 |
| ≥0.90 for males and ≥0.85 for females | 403 (36.5) | 170 (80.6) | |
AED, United Arab Emirates Dirham.