Type 1 Diabetes in a Resource-Poor Setting: Malnutrition Related, Malnutrition Modified, or Just Diabetes?

Balcha, Shitaye Alemu, Phillips, David I W and Trimble, Elisabeth R (2018) Type 1 Diabetes in a Resource-Poor Setting: Malnutrition Related, Malnutrition Modified, or Just Diabetes? Current Diabetes Reports, 18 (7), 47. (doi:10.1007/s11892-018-1003-7).

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Very little is known about the occurrence of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) in resource-poor countries and particularly in their rural hinterlands.

RECENT FINDINGS: Studies of the epidemiology of T1DM in Ethiopia and similar countries in sub-Saharan Africa show that the pattern of presenting disease differs substantially from that in the West. Typically, the peak age of onset of the disease is more than a decade later with a male excess and a low prevalence of indicators of islet-cell autoimmunity. It is also associated with markers of undernutrition. These findings raise the question as to whether the principal form of T1DM seen in these resource-poor communities has a different pathogenesis. Whether the disease is a direct result of malnutrition or whether malnutrition may modify the expression of islet-cell autoimmunity is unclear. However, the poor prognosis in these settings underlines the urgent need for detailed clinical and epidemiological studies.

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