Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and Its Risk Factors in Urban Communities of North Sudan: Population-based Study

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major health problem in Africa and worldwide. The prevalence of diabetes is expected to increase at alarming rate in Africa. Its estimated that around 20 million Africans are now living with diabetes, comprising a challenge for health systems at present and in the future. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed and diagnosed DM and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in adult urban communities of the River Nile State (RNS), north Sudan.

Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional community-based study in which participants were randomly selected from the four main cities of the RNS, on a house-to-house basis. Blood glucose was tested and all participants completed a questionnaire to obtain demographic, clinical and social data. Blood pressure and anthropometric measures were also recorded.

Results: In all, 954 adults (518 females; 54.3%; mean [±SD] age 39.5 ± 16.7 years; range 18-90 years) participated in the survey. The overall prevalence of DM was 19.1% (182/954), whereas that of IGT was 9.5% (91/954). Among the diabetic group, 125 (68.7%) had known diabetes, whereas 57 (31.3%) were newly diagnosed during the study. Increasing age, a family history of diabetes, central obesity, abnormal body mass index, and hypertension were significant risk factors for DM.

Conclusions: There is high prevalence of DM and glucose intolerance in the urban population of the RNS. Screening for diabetes in individuals with any feature of metabolic syndrome is recommended.