Frontiers in clinical diabetes and healthcare最新文献

Introduction: Language barriers can pose a significant hurdle to successfully educating children and young people with type 1 diabetes (CYPD) and their families, potentially influencing their glycaemic control.

Methods: Retrospective case-control study assessing HbA1c values at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months post-diagnosis in 41 CYPD requiring interpreter support (INT) and 100 age-, sex- and mode-of-therapy-matched CYPD not requiring interpreter support (CTR) in our multi-diverse tertiary diabetes centre. Data were captured between 2009-2016. English indices of deprivation for each cohort are reported based on the UK 2015 census data.

Results: The main languages spoken were Somali (27%), Urdu (19.5%), Romanian (17%) and Arabic (12%), but also Polish, Hindi, Tigrinya, Portuguese, Bengali and sign language. Overall deprivation was worse in the INT group according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD [median]: INT 1.642; CTR 3.741; p=0.001). The median HbA1c was higher at diagnosis in the CTR group (9.95% [85.2 mmol/mol] versus 9.0% [74.9 mmol/mol], p=0.046) but was higher in the INT group subsequently: the median HbA1c at 18 months post diagnosis was 8.3% (67.2 mmol/mol; INT) versus 7.9% (62.8 mmol/mol; CTR) (p=0.014). There was no hospitalisation secondary to diabetes-related complications in either cohorts.

Summary and conclusions: Glycaemic control is worse in CYPD with language barriers. These subset of patients also come from the most deprived areas which adds to the disadvantage. Health care providers should offer tailored support for CYP/families with language barriers, including provision of diabetes-specific training for interpreters, and explore additional factors contributing to poor glycaemic control. The findings of this study suggest that poor health outcomes in CYPD with language barriers is multifactorial and warrants a multi-dimensional management approach.

Introduction: Diabetes is a significant problem in sub-Saharan Africa and achieving glycaemic control poses a health challenge among patients living with type 2 diabetes. There are limited data on glycaemic control in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with glycaemic control to inform potential interventions to improve glycaemic control in Kinshasa.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between November 2021-September 2022 among patients recruited from 20 randomly selected health facilities in Kinshasa. Participants were asked to complete a structured questionnaire and to provide two millilitres of blood for Hb1AC assay. Poor glycaemic control was defined as HbA1c ≥7%. Univariate and multivariable logistic regressions were performed to identify factors associated with poor glycaemic control.

Results: A total of 620 participants were recruited for this study. Study participants had a median age of 60 (IQR=53.5-69) years with the majority being female (66.1%), unemployed (67.8%), having income below the poverty line (76.4%), and without health insurance (92.1%). About two-thirds of the participants (420; 67.6%) had poor glycaemic control. Participants on monotherapy with insulin (AOR=1.64, 95%CI [1.10-2.45]) and those on a treatment duration ≥7 years (AOR=1.45, 95%CI [1.01-2.08]) were associated with increased odds of poor glycaemic control while being overweight (AOR= 0.47, 95%CI [0.26-0.85]) and those with uncontrolled blood pressure (AOR=0.65, 95% CI [0.48-0.90]) were protective for poor glycaemic control.

Conclusion: Poor glycaemic control is prevalent among patients with type 2 diabetes in Kinshasa, DRC. Being on insulin alone and a duration of diabetes treatment equal or more than 7 years predisposed to poor glycaemic control. By contrary, having uncontrolled blood pressure and being overweight had protective effect against poor glycaemic control. These links between uncontrolled blood pressure and overweight on the one hand, and glycaemic control on the other are unusual. These reflect, among other things, the specific characteristics of diabetes in sub Saharan Africa.

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) during pregnancy poses significant risks to both the mother and fetus, with an increased risk of fetal demise. Although more prevalent in women with Type I diabetes (T1D); those with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can also develop DKA. A lack of information about DKA during pregnancy exists worldwide, including in South Africa.

Objective: This study examined the characteristics and outcomes associated with DKA during pregnancy.

Methods: The study took place between 1 April 2020 and 1 October 2022. Pregnant women with DKA, admitted to Tygerberg Hospital's Obstetric Critical Care Unit (OCCU) were included. Maternal characteristics, precipitants of DKA, adverse events during treatment, and maternal-fetal outcomes were examined.

Results: There were 54 episodes of DKA among 47 women. Most DKA's were mild and occurred in the third trimester. Pregestational diabetes dominated (31/47; 60%), with 47% having T1D and 94% requiring insulin. Seven women (7/47, 15%; T2D:6, T1D:1) had two episodes of DKA during the same pregnancy. Most women (32/47; 68%) were either overweight or obese. Yet, despite the T2D phenotype, biomarkers indicated that auto-immune diabetes was prevalent among women without any prior history of T1D (6/21; 29%). Twelve women (26%) developed gestational hypertension during pregnancy, and 17 (36%) pre-eclampsia. Precipitating causes of DKA included infection (14/54; 26%), insulin disruption (14/54; 26%) and betamethasone administration (10/54; 19%). More than half of the episodes of DKA involved hypokalemia (35/54, 65%) that was associated with fetal death (P=0.042) and hypoglycemia (28/54, 52%). Preterm birth (<37 weeks' gestation) occurred in 85% of women. No maternal deaths were recorded. A high fetal mortality rate (13/47; 28%) that included 11 spontaneous intrauterine deaths and two medical terminations, was observed.

Conclusion: Women with DKA have a high risk of fetal mortality as well as undiagnosed auto-immune diabetes. There is a strong link between maternal hypokalemia and fetal loss, suggesting an opportunity to address management gaps in pregnant women with DKA.

An emerging research niche has focused on the link between social determinants of health and diabetes mellitus, one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases in modern society. The aim of the present mini-review is to explore and summarize current findings in this field targeting high-income countries. In the presence of disadvantaged neighborhood factors (including socioeconomic status, food environment, walkability and neighborhood aesthetics), diabetes prevention and care are affected at a multidimensional level. The vast majority of the included studies suggest that, besides individual risk factors, aggregated neighborhood inequalities should be tackled to implement effective evidence-based policies for diabetes mellitus.