Objectives: Robust scientific evidence exists about the role of non-conventional risk factors in type 2 diabetes worldwide. The current epidemiological pattern of the disease in Iran suggests a precipitating role for these non-conventional risk factors. This review was performed to examine the research evidence suggesting a higher prevalence of non-conventional type 2 diabetes risk factors in Iran.
Methods: MeSH keywords were applied to search several databases, including PUBMED, MEDLINE, AMED, EMBASE, Iran DOC, and the Scientific Information Database without a time limit from inception to September 2011. The quality of the non-interventional and population-based studies on Iranians included in these databases was assessed by the authors and any disagreement was resolved with consensus.
Results: The literature search yielded 1847 publications, of which 62 were included in this study after eliminating non-relevant and overlapping papers. No study was found that verified a higher prevalence of the non-conventional type 2 diabetes risk factors in the Iranian population.
Conclusion: The identified evidence gap about the role of prominent non-conventional risk factors of type 2 diabetes in the Iranian population could be a major caveat in the application of an evidence-based approach to endorse or reject existing hypothesis about these risk factors. Studies on the prevalence of non-conventional biomarkers of type 2 diabetes among Iranians could be a promising area of research.
Keywords: Iran; diabetes mellitus; multi-factorial causality; non-conventional risk factors; risk factors.