Association of diabetes risk, glycaemic status, and nutritional risk factors in a Hungarian Roma population: A cross-sectional study
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus represents a growing global health burden, particularly in socially disadvantaged populations. While the FINDRISC questionnaire is widely used for risk assessment, its relationship with current glycaemic status remains insufficiently explored. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 self-identified Roma adults in Hungary. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire including the FINDRISC score, along with anthropometric measurements and HbA1c assessment. Associations were analysed using non-parametric tests, correlation analysis, ROC curve analysis, and multivariable linear regression using IBM SPSS 29.0 software. More than half of the participants had HbA1c values in the diabetes range. FINDRISC scores showed significant associations with age, body mass index, and waist circumference ( P < 0.001), which are themselves components of the FINDRISC score. A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was observed between FINDRISC score and HbA1c levels ( r = 0.195, P < 0.001). However, FINDRISC categories were not significantly associated with glycaemic status, and the discriminatory ability of FINDRISC for identifying HbA1c values within the diabetes range was limited (AUC = 0.579). In multivariable analysis, FINDRISC remained positively associated with HbA1c after adjustment for sex, educational level, and smoking status, although the model explained only a small proportion of the variance in HbA1c. After excluding participants with previously diagnosed diabetes, the correlation between the FINDRISC score and HbA1c remained very weak ( r s = 0.132, P = 0.035), while the discriminatory ability of FINDRISC was no longer statistically significant (AUC = 0.550, 95% CI: 0.480–0.621, P = 0.163). Overall, FINDRISC showed only a weak association with HbA1c and limited ability to discriminate between HbA1c-based glycaemic categories. These findings suggest that FINDRISC and biochemical assessment provide complementary information when evaluating glycaemic status in community-based screening settings.