Remzi Aygün

Distribution of contraceptive use in a Turkish population

OBJECTIVE This study is designed to estimate the distribution of contraceptive use among reproductive age women in a Turkish population (Turkey). STUDY DESIGN We included 2365 women of reproductive age in this study. Women were given a questionnaire via a face-to-face interview. RESULTS During the time period just after marriage, 1914 women (80.9%) declared that they did not use any type of contraception. Among 451 women who had used a contraceptive method just after marriage, the most commonly used method was condoms (34.2%), followed by oral contraceptives (31.2%) and coitus interruptus (25.9%). When their history of contraceptive use was asked, 1903 women (80.2%) stated that they used a method of contraception while 462 women (19.5%) had never used any type of contraceptive. Distribution of contraceptive methods among women was analyzed and intrauterine devices were detected to be the most commonly used method (n=1046, 55%). CONCLUSION A point that should be emphasized is that there is a marked increase in contraceptive prevalence, and expansion of family planning activities in Turkey. This change, we believe, is due to improvements in health services of Turkey, realized in recent years.

The 5-Year Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Women Older Than 15 Years in Ankara, Turkey: A Population-Based Study

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant cause of morbidity and premature mortality especially in adults. In Turkey, there are few studies on DM incidence. This study aimed to determine the incidence of type 2 DM in women 15 years or older in Turkey. Methods This prospective cohort study was performed from December 2002 to May 2003. Preliminary population-based screening was performed in 1997 and 1998 on women 15 years or older living in 4 villages in the Gölbaşı, Ankara province. Five hundred sixty-three women who were considered nondiabetic in the first study comprised the population for the present study. Data collection was accomplished by using a questionnaire and randomly measuring the blood glucose levels of the women. The χ2 and Fisher exact tests were used to analyze the risk factors for DM. Results The 5-year incidences of type 2 DM, impaired glucose tolerance, and impaired fasting glucose were 2.3%, 0.4%, and 0.7%, respectively. The 5-year incidence of type 2 DM increased with age (P < 0.05). The DM incidence was 6.2% in those with mixed-type hypertension and 4.0% in those with a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher. At 5-year follow-up, age (≥35 years), hypertension, and body mass index (≥30 kg/m2) were the risk factors for incidence of abnormal glucose metabolism (P < 0.05). Conclusions The incidence of abnormal glucose metabolism in this study is in accord with that in the literature. Our results will contribute to our understanding of the incidence of DM in women in Turkey.