Aims: To determine the prevalence and 10 years risk of type-2 diabetes mellitus in rural English speaking South West Cameroon. Methods: Between April and June 2018, we conducted community screening campaigns in 6 English speaking rural communities of Cameroon. We adapted the Finish Diabetes Association Type 2 diabetes risk assessment tool to enable us classify participants as low or high risk cases. Results: In a sample of 983 participants aged ≥30 years, we found 37 (3.8%) persons with type 2 diabetes (12 existing and 25 newly diagnosed) and 149 (15.1%) persons at high risk of developing diabetes within 10 years. We estimated that within 10 years 65 (6.9%) new cases of diabetes will emerge from the study population. Older participants (54 - 87 years) were 2.5 times (AOR 2.5, CI: 1.0, 6.2) more likely to have diabetes compared to younger (30 - 44 years) participants. The risk of developing diabetes within 10 years was statistically significantly increased among participants who were semi-active, older, had a high BMI, had a family history of diabetes or had high systolic blood pressure. Conclusions: Our study identified a brewing diabetes crisis in rural Cameroon, confirming the recent International Diabetes Federation warnings of an impending rural diabetes crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is therefore an urgent need for measures to avert the situation such as expanding the urban-focused diabetes service to rural areas.
Mbanya, J.C., Kengne, A.P. and Assah, F. (2006) Diabetes Care in Africa. The Lancet, 368, 1628-1629. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69673-6
[3]
Hossain, P., Kawar, B. and El Nahas, M. (2009) Obesity and Diabetes in the Developing World—A Growing Challenge.
[4]
BeLue, R., Okoror, T.A., Iwelunmor, J., Taylor, K.D., Degboe, A.N., Agyemang, C., et al. (2009) An Overview of Cardiovascular Risk Factor Burden in Sub-Saharan African Countries: A Socio-Cultural Perspective. Global Health, 5, 10.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-8603-5-10
[5]
Hall, V., Thomsen, R.W., Henriksen, O. and Lohse, N. (2011) Diabetes in Sub Saharan Africa 1999-2011: Epidemiology and Public Health Implications. A Systematic Review. BMC Public Health, 11, 564.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-564
[6]
Levitt, N.S. (2008) Diabetes in Africa: Epidemiology, Management and Healthcare Challenges. Heart, 94, 1376-1382. https://doi.org/10.1136/hrt.2008.147306
[7]
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2019) The World Factbook: Cameroon.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/
[8]
Pastakia, S.D., Pekny, C.R., Manyara, S.M. and Fischer, L. (2017) Diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa: From Policy to Practice to Progress: Targeting the Existing Gaps for Future Care for Diabetes. Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy, 10, 247. https://doi.org/10.2147/DMSO.S126314
[9]
IndexMundi (2019) Cameroon Age Structure.
https://www.indexmundi.com/cameroon/age_structure.html
[10]
Maboh, M.N., Leke, A.Z. and Nyenti, P.B. (2019) Health Professions Education Programs Reorientation towards Social Accountability: The ENACIER Model. Social Innovation Journal, 55.
[11]
Mavrogianni, C., Lambrinou, C.P., Androutsos, O., Lindstrom, J., Kivela, J., Cardon, G., Huys, N., Tsochev, K., Iotova, V., Chakarova, N. and Rurik, I. (2019) Evaluation of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score as a Screening Tool for Undiagnosed Type 2 Diabetes and Dysglycaemia among Early Middle-Aged Adults in a Large-Scale European Cohort. The Feel 4 Diabetes-Study. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 150, 99-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2019.02.017
[12]
World Health Organization (2006) Definition and Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus and Intermediate Hyperglycaemia: Report of a WHO/IDF Consultation.
[13]
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) Overweight and Obesity.
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html
[14]
World Health Organization (2011) Waist Circumference and Waist-Hip Ratio. Report of a WHO Expert Consultation, Geneva.
[15]
Vandersmissen, G.J. and Godderis, L. (2015) Evaluation of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) for Diabetes Screening in Occupational Health Care. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 28, 587-591.
https://doi.org/10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00407
[16]
Leke, Z.A., Cheryl, P. and Maboh, N. (2014) Breaking Barriers to Rural Diabetes Management in Rural Communities: Student Nurses Make a Difference Using Point-of-Care Testing. GSTF Journal of Nursing and Health Care, 1, 37-44.
https://doi.org/10.5176/2345-718X_1.2.33
[17]
Bigna, J.J., Nansseu, J.R., Katte, J.C. and Noubiap, J.J. (2018) Prevalence of Prediabetes and Diabetes Mellitus among Adults Residing in Cameroon: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 137, 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2017.12.005
[18]
Napoli, N., Mottini, G., Arigliani, M., Creta, A., Giua, R., Incammisa, A., Carotti, S., Sihom, F., Yimagou, I., Alombah, R. and Mbanya, J.C. (2010) Unexpectedly High Rates of Obesity and Dysglycemia among Villagers in Cameroon. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 26, 10-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/dmrr.1036
[19]
Lissock, C.N.A.A., Sobngwi, E., Ngassam, E. and Ngoa, L.S.E. (2011) Rural and Urban Differences in Metabolic Profiles in a Cameroonian Population. Pan African Medical Journal, 10, 1. https://doi.org/10.4314/pamj.v10i0.72204
[20]
Kaze, F.F., Meto, D.T., Halle, M.P., Ngogang, J. and Kengne, A.P. (2015) Prevalence and Determinants of Chronic Kidney Disease in Rural and Urban Cameroonians: A Cross-Sectional Study. BMC Nephrology, 16, 117.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12882-015-0111-8
[21]
Mbanya, J.C.N., Ngogang, J., Salah, J.N., Minkoulou, E. and Balkau, B. (1997) Prevalence of NIDDM and Impaired Glucose Tolerance in a Rural and an Urban Population in Cameroon. Diabetologia, 40, 824-829.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s001250050755
[22]
Foundation for the Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (2015) Winners of the 2015 Projects That Work Competition.
https://www.faimer.org/news/tag/network-tufh/
