Abstract
Objective: To identify the risk factors for the development of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in university students of the Nursing course. Method: Exploratory, descriptive and transverse study with quantitative approach, accomplished with 154 academics from the Nursing course, Coari, Amazonas, Brazil. Data were collected through two instruments, the sociodemographic questionnaire and the validated and adapted instrument called "Are you at risk for type 2 diabetes?". Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 20.0. Results: there was a predominance of females (68.2%), with a means age of 23.1 (± 4.3) years and single (78.6%). Most have adequate salt intake (53.9%), do not have systemic arterial hypertension (94.2%) and consider their own health good (55.8%), have no cases of diabetes mellitus in the family (54.5 %), nor risk (98.0%) for the development of the disease. Conclusion: Thus, this investigation found that, although there is a transition in the student's lifestyle upon entering academic life, this does not significantly influence the development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.