Background: The goal of this study was to measure the prevalence of diabetes among adults in urban Bo, Sierra Leone, and to compare the new results to the diabetes prevalence rates reported from studies across West Africa.
Methods: A total of 694 outpatients ages 18 and older at Bo Government Hospital were tested for diabetes between January 2012 and December 2014. Diabetes was defined as a fasting blood sugar level of ≥126 mg/dL (≥7.0 mmol/L).
Results: The overall prevalence of diabetes was 6.2% (43/694). Diabetes prevalence increased from 0.8% (2/256) among patients ages 18 to 29 years to 3.9% (8/204) among patients ages 30 to 39, 8.4% (11/131) among patients ages 40 to 49, 19.0% (12/63) among patients ages 50 to 59, and 25.0% (10/40) among patients ages 60 and older. The prevalence of diabetes was 5.2% among females and 7.4% among males. After adjusting the study population to the age and sex distribution of the national population, the standardized prevalence of diabetes was 7.0%. The only previously published study of diabetes in Sierra Leone found a much lower 2.4% prevalence rate in 1997. A comprehensive literature search identified studies from across West Africa (including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo) that illustrate an increasing rate of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in the region.
Conclusions: It is important for hospitals and clinics across West Africa to increase their ability to diagnose, monitor, and treat type 2 diabetes in urban and rural areas.
Keywords: Sierra Leone; West Africa; diabetes; diabetes mellitus; prevalence study; type 2 diabetes.
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