Urban and rural prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes and risk factors associated with diabetes in Tanzania and Uganda

• Published in: Global health action Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 31440
• Main Authors: Chiwanga, Faraja S, Njelekela, Marina A, Diamond, Megan B, Bajunirwe, Francis, Guwatudde, David, Nankya-Mutyoba, Joan, Kalyesubula, Robert, Adebamowo, Clement, Ajayi, IkeOluwapo, Reid, Todd G, Volmink, Jimmy, Laurence, Carien, Adami, Hans-Olov, Holmes, Michelle D, Dalal, Shona
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.01.2016
• Subjects: risk factors; sub-Saharan Africa; Tanzania; non-communicable; Uganda; underdiagnoses
• ISSN: 1654-9880

Background The increase in prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa underlines the importance of understanding its magnitude and causes in different population groups. We analyzed data from the Africa/Harvard Partnership for Cohort Research and Training (PaCT) studies to determine the prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes and risk factors associated with diabetes. Methodology Participants were randomly selected from peri-urban (n=297) and rural (n=200) communities in Uganda, and teachers were recruited from schools (n=229) in urban Tanzania. We used a standardized questionnaire to collect socio-demographic and self-reported disease status including diabetes status. Blood glucose was also measured after participants fasted for 8 h. We used standard protocols for anthropometric and blood pressure measurement. Results The overall prevalence of diabetes was 10.1% and was highest in rural Ugandan residents (16.1%) compared to teachers in Tanzania (8.3%) and peri-urban Ugandan residents (7.6%). The prevalence of pre-diabetes was 13.8%. The prevalence of self-reported diabetes was low across all sites, where 68% of participants with diabetes were not captured by self-report. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, family history (OR 2.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 5.6) and hypertension (OR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 5.2) were significantly associated with diabetes. Conclusions The prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes in Uganda and Tanzania is high, differs markedly between population groups, and remains undiagnosed in an alarmingly high proportion of individuals. These findings highlight the need for large-scale, prospective studies to accurately quantify the burden and identify effective intervention and treatment strategies across diverse African populations.