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Chapter 66 - Diabetes Mellitus

from Section 10 - Non-communicable Diseases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2025

By
Jean Claude N. Mbanya ,
Camille M. Mba ,
Andrew E. Uloko ,
Roberta Lamptey  and
Geoffrey V. Gill
Edited by
David Mabey ,
Martin W. Weber ,
Moffat Nyirenda ,
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu ,
Jackson Orem ,
Laura Benjamin ,
Michael Marks  and
Nicholas A. Feasey
David Mabey
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Martin W. Weber
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Moffat Nyirenda
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
Jackson Orem
Affiliation:
Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala
Laura Benjamin
Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Marks
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Nicholas A. Feasey
Affiliation:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
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Summary

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycaemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. Diabetes is associated with permanent blindness, damage to the heart and blood vessels, nerves, and kidneys. It is also commonly associated with dysfunction in organ systems due to the damaging effect of hyperglycaemia on these organs (IDF 2019; WHO 2019). In 1901 Albert Cook, a medical missionary in Uganda, reported that ‘diabetes is rather uncommon and very fatal’. Over the next 50–60 years diabetes continued to be regarded as rare in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), although in North Africa it was probably more widely recognized. Presently, the continent is experiencing a major increase in diabetes prevalence and treatment availability, care delivery and outcome remain suboptimal (Gill et al. 2009; Mbanya et al. 2010). The long-held belief that ‘diabetes is not a significant health problem of the black African’ has been debunked with the now growing epidemic of diabetes and diabetes-related problems.

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Principles of Medicine in Africa , pp. 607 - 624
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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